Sources: Kushner, US-Saudi relations talks with crown prince

2024-10-04 20:27:14, Kosova & Bota CNA

Since leaving the Trump administration, Jared Kushner, the former president's son-in-law, has held several diplomatic talks with Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, known as MbS, that have included Israel, he told Reuters. a source familiar with the matter.

The source did not provide information on when the talks took place and whether they took place before or after the start of the conflict in Gaza. But he added that they included discussions on the process of normalizing relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia, a key diplomatic objective of the Biden and Trump administrations.

Forty-three-year-old Kushner has a close relationship with Saudi Arabia, which lawmakers in Congress, who have been investigating the matter, say have invested $2 billion in his firm Affinity Partners, which Mr. Kushner created it after he left the White House.

The news that Mr. Kushner and Saudi Arabia's de facto leader, MbS, have discussed a peace deal that President Joe Biden has also tried to broker is indicative of the importance Republicans and Democrats place on the Middle East, a region that has always and more unstable as the presidential elections approach.

The talks also signal how Mr Trump might manage the crisis in the region if he is returned to power - and rekindle questions about whether Mr Kushner's financial ties to Riyadh could influence US policy if Mr Trump comes to the White House.

Saudi Arabia's investments in Kushner's company have been criticized by ethics experts, Democrats in Congress and even some Republicans, who have expressed concern that they could be seen as a form of payback, since Mr. Kushner worked on Saudi affairs before leaving. by the Trump administration.

In a Sept. 24 letter to Affinity, Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden, chairman of the Finance Committee, wrote that investments from Saudi Arabia in Mr. Kushner's company raise "obvious conflict-of-interest concerns."

Affinity and Mr. Kushner have rejected claims that Saudi Arabia's investments are a reward or constitute a conflict of interest. Affinity said Mr. Wyden and his Senate office staff do not understand the issues surrounding private equity.

"The reason so many people go to Jared for his insights and opinions is that he has a track record of success on these issues," said a spokesman for Mr. Kushner.

The source, a person close to Mr Kushner, declined to elaborate on the discussions with the crown prince, saying he respected the friendship between them. "It would not be appropriate for me to share information on this," he said.

A spokesman for the Saudi Embassy in Washington did not respond to questions about discussions between Mr. Kushner and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud.

In a speech on September 18, the prince said the kingdom would not recognize Israel without the creation of a Palestinian state, suggesting an agreement on the issue soon may be impossible.

The stance reflects a shift from February, when three sources told Reuters that Saudi Arabia was willing to accept even a political commitment from Israel to create a Palestinian state, rather than something more binding, in an effort to secured an agreement in the defense field with Washington before the US presidential elections.

To encourage Saudi Arabia to recognize Israel, the Biden administration has offered Riyadh security guarantees, aid for a civilian nuclear program, and renewed efforts to establish a Palestinian state.

A step in that direction by Riyadh could reshape the Middle East by uniting two old enemies and linking the world's largest oil exporter to Washington, at a time when China is advancing in the region.

But the conflict in Gaza has thrown the talks into uncertainty. The war and humanitarian crisis have bolstered Arab and Muslim support for the Palestinians in their decades-long conflict with Israel over territory and citizenship, making it difficult for Riyadh to discuss recognizing Israel without addressing Palestinian aspirations.

The US election is also a factor, one of the closest races in history between Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Kamala Harris.

Mr. Trump's relationship with Saudi Arabia was notoriously strained. Mr Trump's first trip abroad as president in 2017 was to Riyadh, accompanied by Mr Kushner. After Saudi opposition journalist Jamal Khashoggi was killed in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Mr Trump stood by the crown prince, despite a US intelligence report that it was Prince MbS who had authorized the killing. The prince has denied involvement.

Two sources familiar with Saudi strategy said that if Mr Trump returns to the White House, the crown prince would welcome a deal with Israel under his leadership. If Ms. Harris were to be declared the winner, the deal would move forward again, the same sources said.

On September 27, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke about the prospect of an agreement in positive terms. "A peace with Saudi Arabia would be a blessing," he said in a speech to the UN General Assembly.

The normalization of Israeli-Saudi relations would mark an expansion of the so-called "Abraham Accords" signed when Mr. Trump was in office. The agreements led to the normalization of relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan. Mr. Kushner, who has close ties to Israel, led the negotiations as a senior White House adviser during the Trump administration.

Three sources close to Mr. Kushner said that if Mr. Trump wins the November presidential election, they expect Mr. Kushner to be involved in talks with Saudi Arabia, albeit in an unofficial capacity. A spokesman for Mr. Kushner denied that he is seeking such a role.

If Mr. Kushner were to become involved in diplomatic talks as a private citizen in the event of a second term for Mr. Trump, it could constitute a major conflict of interest, ethics experts say, as it puts Mr. Kushner in an important position to carried out negotiations at the government level, with one of the main investors of his company.

While Mr. Kushner and his wife, Ivanka Trump, have largely stayed away from Mr. Trump's election campaign, they were present at the Republican National Convention in July./ VOA