Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister has voiced optimism that relations between Riyadh and Washington will be “excellent” under new U.S. President Joe Biden, Al-Arabiya TV channel cited him as saying on Thursday.
Appointments made by Biden show “understanding of the common issues” by the new U.S. administration, Prince Faisal bin Farhan added.
“The Biden administration will find that our targets regarding Yemen are the same,” Al-Arabiya quoted him as saying.
Saudi Arabia’s King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman congratulated President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris on winning the presidential election in November, and King Salman “praised the distinguished, historic and close relations between the two friendly countries and their people which everyone looks to strengthen and develop at all levels.”
Just days before President Biden took office, Saudi Arabia mended the rift between several Arab states and Qatar, and has taken several other steps to place the U.S.-Saudi special relationship on solid footing as President Biden’s administration begins.
Prince Faisal bin Farhan’s new counterpart in the Biden administration will be Antony Blinken, who served as Deputy National Security Advisor from 2013 to 2015 and Deputy Secretary of State from 2015 to 2017 under President Barack Obama. Blinken must first be confirmed by the U.S. Senate.
Blinken said the new administration had “an urgent responsibility” to do what it could to stop Iran acquiring a nuclear weapon.
“The breakout time – the time it would take Iran to produce enough fissile material for one weapon – has gone from beyond a year, as it was under the JCPOA, to about three or four months, based at least on public reporting,” Blinken said.
