Saudi minister: Not aware of any discussions on Gulf-Israel defence alliance
Saudi Arabia's foreign minister said on Saturday he was not aware of any discussions on a Gulf-Israeli defence alliance and that the kingdom was not involved in such talks.
Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud told reporters after a U.S.-Arab summit that Riyadh's decision to open its airspace to all air carriers had nothing to do with establishing diplomatic ties with Israel and was not a precursor to further steps.
Speaking at a news conference, Al Saudi also said that they did not discuss oil and that Opec+ would continue to assess market conditions and do what is necessary.
“There were no talks of military or technical cooperation with Israel...neither during the summit nor before.” Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud told a news conference.
U.S. officials said President Joe Biden would discuss energy security with leaders of Gulf oil producers during his visit and hoped to see more action by Opec+ to boost output, but there was unlikely to be any bilateral announcements from the talks.
The United States is eager to see Saudi Arabia and its Opec partners pump more oil to help tame crude prices. Opec+, which also includes Russia, meets next on Aug. 3.
