Saudi Arabia will move forward with their nuclear development program whether the United States is on board or not as "there are others that are bidding" to help, Saudi Arabia's foreign minister said Thursday after meeting with U.S. secretary of state Antony Blinken.
"It’s no secret that we are developing our domestic civilian nuclear program and we would very much prefer to be able to have the U.S. as one of the bidders," Foreign Minister prince Faisal bin Farhan said. "Obviously we would like to build our program with the best technology in the world."
The statement comes as the Biden administration struggles to broker a deal with the Arab nation to normalize its relationship with Israel. Reports circulated before Blinken's trip to the oil-rich country that Saudi leaders were conditioning the agreement on "boosted U.S. defense sales and assent for a Saudi civilian nuclear program."
While Faisal did not say Thursday if the nuclear issue was linked to normalization, he added that a deal with Israel would have "limited benefits" without "finding a pathway to peace for the Palestinian people," the Associated Press reported.
Faisal's comments are only the latest Saudi snub to President Joe Biden, who has struggled since the beginning of his term to hold any clout in the region. Blinken visited the country this week in hopes of soothing the strained relationship brought on by mounting disagreements on China, regional security, and oil prices. The day before Blinken's trip, Saudi-led OPEC announced it will cut oil production yet again, raising oil prices by more than 1 percent a barrel.
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