LONG TIES BASED ON OIL AND SECURITY
Saudi Arabia and the US have maintained strong ties for decades based on an ironclad arrangement in which the kingdom delivers oil and the superpower provides security.
Trump has also said he may travel on Thursday to Turkey for potential face-to-face talks between Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Russia’s war in Ukraine. An aide to Zelenskyy said the Ukrainian president would take part only if Putin does. The Russian leader has not said if he will attend, and has questioned Zelenskyy’s legitimacy.
Trump’s second foreign trip since returning to the presidency in January – his first was to Rome for Pope Francis’ funeral – comes at a time of geopolitical tension.
In addition to pressing for a settlement in Ukraine, his administration is pushing for a new aid mechanism for Gaza after 19 months of war and urging Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to agree on a new ceasefire deal there.
Israeli officials have put a brave face on Trump’s decision to bypass Israel during his trip but there are growing doubts in Israel about its position in his priorities as frustration mounts in Washington over the failure to end the Gaza war.
Over the weekend, US and Iranian negotiators met in Oman to discuss a potential deal to curb Tehran’s nuclear programme. Trump has threatened military action against Iran if diplomacy fails.
Iran’s Nournews quoted armed forces chief of staff Mohammad Bagheri as saying on Tuesday that Iran’s neighbours should retain neutrality and that any aggression against Iran would lead to definitive retaliation.
Trump is expected to offer Saudi Arabia an arms package worth more than US$100 billion, sources told Reuters. This could include a range of advanced weapons.
Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, said last week he expected progress imminently on expanding the Abraham Accords, a set of deals brokered by Trump in his first term by which Arab states, including the UAE, Bahrain and Morocco, recognised Israel.
But opposition by Netanyahu to a permanent stop to the war in Gaza or to the creation of a Palestinian state makes progress on similar talks with Riyadh unlikely, sources told Reuters.
