US president Donald Trump is due to receive Saudi Arabia’s powerful crown prince Mohammed bin Salman at the White House on Tuesday.
Even though it is not a formal state visit – bin Salman’s father King Salman is the head of state – it will feel like one, with a welcome ceremony, military band and formal black-tie dinner.
The meeting will mark Prince bin Salman’s first visit to the White House since 2018, months before the murder of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi at a Saudi consulate in Turkey. Afterwards, the then US president Joe Biden pledged to make Saudi Arabia a “pariah” state for human rights abuses.
Why is the meeting taking place now?
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Trump has cultivated a close relationship with the kingdom’s de facto ruler. The US president promptly phoned his congratulations when bin Salman was elevated to his current role, cementing ties at a time when there was dissension over the succession as another branch of the family was first in line.
Tuesday’s meeting is set to focus on both countries’ shared objectives of deepening oil and security co-ordination while strengthening commercial, technological and nuclear energy co-operation. Trump also has personal financial interests in the region.
His primary stated aim is to encourage the crown prince to normalise diplomatic ties with Israel, a long-time goal of the president’s Abraham Accords policy.
What is bin Salman’s policy on Israel?
He initially said Saudi Arabia would normalise relations with Israel once there was a path towards a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital, but later hardened this line by saying that Riyadh would forge ties with Israel only when a Palestinian state is in existence.
Why has Saudi Arabia resisted normalising ties with Israel?
There is widespread antipathy toward Israel in Saudi Arabia and the Muslim world. Since the Saudi ruler has assumed the title of “Guardian of the Two Holy Mosques” at Mecca and Medina, he could be seen to lose credibility among Muslims if he agreed to recognise Israel as long as it occupies Al-Aqsa, the third-holiest site in Islam.
Is there any chance of Saudi Arabia signing up to the Abraham Accords?
Joe Biden and some of his top aides have previously said they believe the October 7th attacks were intended, partly, to obstruct normalisation talks with Saudi Arabia. Now that a ceasefire is in place, Trump believes a deal can be reached.
While the crown prince and Trump are expected to sign agreements on defence and security co-operation, including new purchases of US-made fighter jets and weapons, normalising ties with Israel seems a way off. Saudi Arabia wants an “irreversible” pathway to Palestinian statehood, while Trump’s Gaza plan only provides a “credible pathway” to statehood.
