Saudi FM: Deal with Israel will be ‘extremely helpful’ for region

Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister says such a move depends on progress of peace process.

A normalisation deal between Saudi Arabia and Israel would benefit the region, the kingdom’s foreign minister has said, adding that a potential deal “depends to a large extent on the progress of the peace process”. Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, during an interview on Thursday, added that “the normalisation of Israel’s status within the region would bring tremendous benefits to the region as a whole”. “It would be extremely helpful economically, socially and from a security perspective,” he said in the interview with CNN, adding that it would be possible only if a Palestinian state within 1967 borders was delivered.