Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan confirmed that there is no such thing as an “Arab NATO”, and indicated that there is no talk of a Gulf alliance with Israel.
Bin Farhan said, in a press conference on the sidelines of the “Jeddah Summit for Security and Development”, yesterday, Saturday, that “there was no talk of a Gulf alliance with Israel, although… Saudi Arabia did not participate in any talks.”
He explained that “there was no mention of any kind of military or technical cooperation with Israel at all. I do not know where this news came from, nor was it raised or discussed at the summit or before it.”
He stressed that “there is no such thing as an Arab NATO, and this is not on the table, but the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia proposed nearly five years ago the formation of a joint Arab defense system.”
He pointed out that the Jeddah summit, which was attended by the leaders of the United States, Egypt, Jordan, Iraq and the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, focused on partnership with the United States.
Regarding the tense relations between Washington and Riyadh, Bin Farhan said that “our partnership with the United States is old, existing and continuing.”
He added that “it became clear that whoever wanted to have a global agenda should talk to Saudi Arabia,” noting that “the region has matured and we have developed our relations with many countries.”
