Saudi Arabia and the United States are negotiating historic agreements that include strategic partnerships, economic ties and military deals.
“While we came very close and are very close to achieving very important elements of this agreement, it is important that we finalize it all together, and with that, we would have a historic agreement between the United States and Saudi Arabia,” said the US ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Michael Ratney. Asharq Al-Awsat In an interview.
The ambassador, however, did not specify a time frame for finalizing the agreement, but said that “we would like to be able to do it tomorrow.”
“We are in a complicated region and there are many complexities in the agreement itself, but we will get it done as quickly as possible,” Ratney said.
In May of this year, White House security adviser Jake Sullivan and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had several meetings about a deal that was almost “finalized” between the two countries, the Saudi Press Agency reported at the time.
The United States also reiterated its decision to continue selling arms to Saudi Arabia after the Arab country worked to prevent war in Yemen.
“Saudi Arabia has invested heavily in a diplomatic effort to stop the war in Yemen and to maintain calm and mitigate harm to civilians if military conflict were to recur,” Ratney said.
“Circumstances have changed, collaboration has grown and with that, naturally, changes have occurred in our own approach.”
The ambassador also discussed US efforts to maintain security and prosperity in Saudi Arabia and the Middle East amid Israel's offensive against Palestinians in Gaza since October 7 last year, as well as an increase in Houthi attacks in the Red Sea.
Ratney said the US intends to keep its navy and army in the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea to counter any attack.
“We do this because freedom of navigation in this part of the world is deeply important and our commitment to the security of Saudi Arabia and this entire region is paramount,” Ratney said.
According to Ratney, the countries share the same goal of achieving a two-state solution that would allow Palestinians to live in peace on their land alongside Israel.
“We fundamentally believe that a Palestinian state must emerge from a political process, from negotiations between the parties, and not in any other way.”
“In the meantime, the most pressing priority is to stop the violence in Gaza, to stop the misery of the people of Gaza, to move forward with our efforts towards a ceasefire, to free the Israeli hostages and to end this conflict and to find ways to deliver much-needed humanitarian assistance in Gaza,” he added.
Ratney also discussed strengthening economic ties between Saudi Arabia and the US, where the former's economy creates opportunities for the latter to invest and transform its economic development.
“We are now working with the Saudi government and Saudi companies in areas that we would not have imagined in the past, such as commercial space exploration,” the US ambassador said.
“The Kingdom has huge ambitions in the trade arena and we as businesses want to be there with them,” Ratney added.
