Saudi Arabia eager to achieve fair solution to Palestine issue, King Salman tells Trump

(Karachi) Saudi Arabia's King Salman told US President Donald Trump that the Kingdom remains committed to achieving a fair and permanent solution to the Palestinian issue. The two leaders spoke in a phone call, local media reported on Monday.

The leaders held discussions following a historic US brokered accord last month under which the United Arab Emirates agreed to become the third Arab state to normalise ties with Israel after Egypt and Jordan. They also discussed the work of the G20 chaired by Saudi Arabia this year and the efforts it made to protect lives and livelihoods to mitigate the effects of Covid-19 pandemic.

King Salman told Trump he appreciated efforts of the US to support peace and that Saudi Arabia wanted to see a fair and permanent solution to the Palestinian issue based on the Arab Peace Initiative proposed by the kingdom in 2002.

Under the proposal, Arab nations have offered Israel normalised ties in return for a statehood deal with the Palestinians and full Israeli withdrawal from territory captured in the 1967 Middle East war.

However, Saudi Arabia would allow flights between UAE and Israel and also permitted Israeli airliners to use its airspace.

Earlier, Israel and the United Arab Emirates reached a historic peace deal that will help the two states to normalize diplomatic relations.

According to the agreement, Israel will suspend applying sovereignty to areas of the West Bank that it planned to annex.

The peace deal was struck after several discussions were held between the officials of Israel, UAE and the United States. Reportedly, Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed agreed to the terms of the pact on a phone call.

In a joint statement issued by the three nations, it stated the three leaders had “agreed to the full normalization of relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates.”