A White House delegation, spearheaded by senior advisor to the president Jared Kushner, will travel to Saudi Arabia and Qatar this week, The Jerusalem Post has confirmed.
Special Representative for International Negotiations Avi Berkowitz, Brian Hook and Adam Boehler are expected to join the trip as well.In Riyadh, they will meet with Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman and other senior Saudi officials. They will also meet the Emir of Qatar and other Qatari officials.
NEW: Jared Kushner and a small crew of White House advisers are heading this week to Saudi Arabia and Qatar, I'm told.
— Jennifer Jacobs (@JenniferJJacobs) November 29, 2020
According to a person familiar with the travel plan, the meeting's main objective is to ease the tensions between Saudi Arabia along with other Gulf States and Qatar. An administration official said this rift undermines the stability in the region and has the potential to undermine the progress made in the Abraham Accords. There is still a significant opportunity for achievements in the Middle East, the official said.
Last week, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in Neom, Saudi Arabia, the Post has reported, according to Israeli sources.
Netanyahu, along with Mossad chief Yossi Cohen, National Security Adviser Meir Ben-Shabbat and Netanyahu’s Military Secretary Avi Bluth, used a private plane belonging to businessman Udi Angel, which the prime minister has used for past diplomatic trips. The plane left Israel at 5 p.m. on Sunday and returned after midnight.
The Israeli and Saudi sides discussed Iran and normalization, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing a senior Saudi adviser.
This article has been adapted from its original source.
