U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo spoke via phone call on Sunday with his Saudi counterpart Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud to discuss a series of issues, including Israel's newly signed normalization agreements with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain.
According to a statement released by the U.S. State Department, the two diplomats "spoke of the important work aimed at advancing humanitarian aid and peace in Yemen, the need to overcome the divisions between the Gulf countries and the historic signing of the Abraham Accords."
Soon after the official statement was released, Pompeo personally thanked the senior Saudi official on his Twitter page.
"Good to speak with the Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs Faisal bin Farhan," Pompeo wrote in the post. "We discussed the Abraham Accords, and I thanked him for Saudi Arabia’s work to advance peace in the south of Yemen. Looking forward to a productive Strategic Dialogue in October."
Shortly after the signing of the U.S.-brokered Abraham Accords on September 15, U.S. President Donald Trump said he expected Riyadh to also normalize ties with Israel "when the time comes."
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L-R: Bahrain Foreign Minister Abdullatif Alzayani, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, U.S. President Donald Trump and Emirati Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al-Nahyan at the signing of the Abraham Accords at the White House
(Photo: AFP)
Bahrain and the UAE are the first Arab nations to establish relations with Israel since Egypt in 1979 and Jordan in 1994.
Reprinted with permission from i24NEWS