"Saudi abandons mutual defense treaty with US..."Low level military cooperation replacement"

Source: Yonhap News

Saudi Arabia, which has been seeking to sign a mutual defense treaty with the United States in return for the normalization of diplomatic relations with Israel, has recently abandoned this policy, Reuters reported on the 29th local time.

Multiple Saudi and Western officials reportedly say Saudi Arabia has turned to pursuing a lower-level military cooperation agreement instead of signing a mutual defense treaty with the United States.

Reuters observed that the new agreement would include joint military exercises between the two countries and enhanced cooperation between defense companies.

Under the new proposal, the U.S. could also consider deploying Patriot missile battalions to strengthen its presence in Saudi Arabia through training, logistical and cybersecurity support, and to strengthen missile defenses and integrated deterrence.

However, it is reported that it is not a mutual defense treaty that mandates protection of each other in the event of a foreign attack.

"It will not be a similar form of defense treaty to that signed by Japan or South Korea as originally pursued," said Abdelaziz al-Sager, director of the Gulf Research Institute, a Saudi think tank.

Saudi Arabia has turned this way because the situation in the Middle East is flowing in an unfavorable way to signing a defense treaty.

Saudi Arabia says it can normalize diplomatic relations only if Israel recognizes Palestine as an independent state, but that is unacceptable for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is forming a coalition with far-right forces.

The Arab public opinion against Israel is not good enough for Saudi Arabia to ease the conditions.

The fact that Joe Biden's administration, which has worked on diplomatic relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia, is running out of office and that President-elect Donald Trump's imminent return to power is also complicating the situation.

Although Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman is close to Trump, the Middle East peace initiative that Trump promoted during his first term in office is difficult for Saudi Arabia to accept.

The Palestinians have strongly opposed the idea, which recognizes Israeli sovereignty over West Bank settlements and recognizes Jerusalem as Israel's undivided capital.

As a result, it seems to have shifted to a low level of military cooperation that does not require approval from the U.S. Congress.

Without normalization of diplomatic relations with Israel, it is difficult to approve it by the U.S. Congress.

However, it is unclear whether Saudi Arabia will finalize the agreement under the Biden administration or wait for Trump to take office.

There are also observations that Trump will use all possible means to normalize diplomatic relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel.

"Trump may push for normalization of diplomatic relations in the direction of promising a ceasefire in Gaza in exchange for normalization of diplomatic relations and tentatively promising to support the Palestinian state without allowing Israel to make substantial concessions to the Palestinians," said Pawaz Gerges, a Middle East expert at the London School of Economics.