Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan met to discuss a nearly 'finalized' draft of an agreement between Washington and Riyadh, the Saudi state news agency reported on Sunday.
The meeting in the Saudi city of Dhahran reviewed "the semi-final version of the draft strategic agreements between the two countries, which are almost being finalized," a statement said.
The discussions come after reports that Washington and Riyadh are close to an agreement on US security guarantees and civilian nuclear assistance, although an Israel-Saudi normalization deal envisioned as part of a Middle East "grand bargain" remains elusive.
The de facto Saudi leader and President Joe Biden's top security aide also discussed the need to find a "credible framework to bring about a two-state solution" for Israel and the Palestinians, to stop the war against Hamas militants in Gaza and to facilitate the entry of humanitarian aid, the statement said.
The White House said Friday that Sullivan will visit Saudi Arabia and Israel to discuss bilateral and regional issues, including Gaza and efforts to achieve lasting peace and security in the region.
Saudi Arabia, as the world's largest oil exporter, is not an obvious candidate for a nuclear pact that typically aims to build nuclear power plants.
But the kingdom is seeking to produce significant renewable energy and reduce pollution under an ambitious long-term plan, while critics say Riyadh may want nuclear expertise in case it one day wants to acquire nuclear weapons, despite safeguards provided for in any deal with Washington to prevent that.
