Saudi Foreign Minister: Palestinian-Israeli agreement is only route to lasting peace

Prince Faisal bin Farhan praises Abraham Accord for temporarily taking annexation off table

Saudi Arabia's Prince Faisal bin Farhan said Iran's regional influence was constrained and contained. AFP

Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, said on Thursday that only an agreement between the Palestinians and Israelis could deliver lasting peace.

And Prince Faisal praised the Abraham Accord signed by the UAE and Israel for suspending the latter's annexation of large parts of the West Bank and Jordan Valley.

The minister, who is in Washington for the US-Saudi strategic dialogue, spoke candidly about prospects of normalisation between his country and Israel.

“We have always envisioned that normalisation would happen, but we also need to have a Palestinian state and a Palestinian-Israeli peace plan,” Prince Faisal said at an online event hosted by the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, UAE Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation, speaks to Donald Trump, US president at the time, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Oval Office in September 2020. Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation

Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, UAE Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation, meets Mike Pompeo, US secretary of state at the time. Wam

Sheikh Abdullah and Mr Pompeo in Washington. Wam

Sheikh Abdullah visits Washington in September last year. Wam

Sheikh Abdullah, UAE Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation, US President Donald Trump, centre, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sign the Abraham Accord at the White House South Lawn. MOFAIC

Sheikh Abdullah and, from left, Bahrain's Foreign Minister Abdullatif Al Zayani, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump at the White House. MOFAIC

Sheikh Abdullah, Mr Al Zayani and Mr Netanyahu at the White House during the Abraham Accord signing ceremony. MOFAIC

Sheikh Abdullah and, from left, Mr Netanyahu, Mr Trump and Mr Al Zayani wave from the Truman Balcony at the White House. AFP

Sheikh Abdullah and, from left, Mr Al Zayani, Mr Netanyahu and Mr Trump sign the Abraham Accord. AFP

Sheikh Abdullah and, from left, Mr Al Zayani, Mr Netanyahu and Mr Trump after the signing ceremony. AFP

Sheikh Abdullah and, from left, Mr Al Zayani, Mr Netanyahu and Mr Trump after the signing ceremony. AFP

Sheikh Abdullah speaks from the Truman Balcony at the White House during the signing ceremony of the Abraham Accord. AFP

Sheikh Abdullah speaks as Mr Trump looks on before the signing of Abraham Accord on the South Lawn of the White House. AP

Sheikh Abdullah looks on from the White House as Mr Trump speaks at the Abraham Accord signing ceremony, also attended by Mr Al Zayani and Mr Netanyahu. AP

Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, UAE Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, left, and Bahraini Foreign Minister Abdullatif Al Zayani stand on the Blue Room Balcony during the signing ceremony. AP

Sheikh Abdullah and Mr Al Zayani shortly before participating in the signing of the Abraham Accord. AFP

Sheikh Abdullah, with Mr Netanyahu, left, and Mr Al Zayani at the signing of the Abraham Accord on the South Lawn of the White House. AFP

US President Donald Trump speaks from the Truman Balcony at the White House during the signing ceremony of the Abraham Accord. AFP

President Donald Trump walks to the Abraham Accord signing ceremony at the White House with Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, UAE Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and Bahrain's Foreign Minister Abdullatif Al Zayani. AP

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo arrives at the White House to attend the Abraham Accord signing ceremony hosted by President Donald Trump. EPA

Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, UAE Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation, meets US President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House before the signing of Abraham Accord. AFP

Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, UAE Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation, in the Oval Office. AFP

Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, UAE Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation, meets US President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House. AFP

Sheikh Abdullah with Mr Trump in the Oval Office. AFP

Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, UAE Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation, with by President Donald Trump at the White House. Mustafa Alrawi / The National

The UAE delegation led by Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation, with US President Donald Trump at the White House. Mustafa Alrawi / The National

Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, UAE Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation, is welcomed to the White House by US President Donald Trump. EPA

Sheikh Abdullah and Mr Trump outside the White House. AFP

Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed speaks to Mr Trump after arriving at the White House. Reuters

White House Senior Adviser Jared Kushner walks away following a television interview on the North Lawn at the White House in Washington. Reuters

US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump welcome the arrival of Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife Sara on the North Lawn of the White House in Washington DC. AFP

A delegation of senior UAE officials led by Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, UAE Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation, prepares to depart for the White House to sign the Abraham Accord. MOFAIC

US President Donald Trump welcomes Bahraini Foreign Minister Abdullatif Al Zayani. AFP

Bahraini Foreign Minister Abdullatif Al Zayani arrives at the White House in Washington DC. AFP

US President Donald Trump welcomes Bahraini Foreign Minister Abdullatif Al Zayani on the North Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC. AFP

Preparations at the White House for the signing of the Abraham Accord.

Preparations under way at the White House for the signing of the Abraham Accord.

Preparations under way at the White House for the signing of the Abraham Accord.

Preparation at the White House for the signing of the Abraham Accord. The National

“We believe that the focus now needs to be on getting the Palestinians and the Israelis back to the negotiating table.

"In the end, the only thing that can deliver lasting peace and lasting stability is an agreement between the Palestinians and the Israelis.”

Without that, he feared a “festering wound” would continue to inhibit regional peace.

On Wednesday, standing alongside Prince Faisal, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo urged Saudi Arabia to normalise relations with Israel.

At the online event, the Saudi royal commended the UAE and Bahrain's announcements of normalisation in September, which he said put annexation "off the table".

“Annexation was a significant threat for peace," he said.

Prince Faisal also said the maximum pressure campaign waged by the US administration on Iran was working, describing Tehran’s influence as “contained and constrained".

“The maximum pressure campaign, while it hasn’t shown a final result, it is working," he said.

"The regime in Iran is less capable of supporting its proxies in Lebanon, Iraq and Syria, and it is certainly showing the pressure domestically."

He urged Iran to return to the negotiating table.

“Our hope is that Iran will sit with the global community led by the US,” Prince Faisal said.

He said any future nuclear deal with Iran would include limits to  Tehran's regional behaviour and its ballistic missile programme.

Otherwise it would be similar to that signed by Iran and world powers in 2015, before US President Donald Trump withdrew the US from it in 2018.

“The path of peace is open. It is up to them [Iran] to take it,” Prince Faisal said.

Mr Pompeo on Wednesday said the US was committed to boosting arms sales to Riyadh to deter Iran.

“The United States supports a robust programme of arms sales to Saudi Arabia, a line of effort that helps the kingdom protect its citizens and sustains American jobs," he said.