Rishi Sunak greets Mohammed bin Salman, Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, on Thursday Photo: Simon Walker/No. 10 Downing Street
Rishi Sunak traveled to Saudi Arabia on Thursday for crisis talks with Mohammed bin Salman amid fears a regional war will break out in the Middle East.
The Prime Minister headed straight to Riyadh from Israel, where he met Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss the country's response to Hamas terror.
Downing Street announced a meeting with the Saudi crown prince Arabia, with the spokesman saying that “Saudi Arabia remains an important partner” in the region.
It came after a Hamas attack that killed at least 1,400 Israelis dashed hopes of normalized relations between Riyadh and Tel Aviv.
Saudi Arabia initially responded to the atrocity by suggesting that Israel is to blame, saying its treatment of the Palestinians led to the «explosion of the situation.»
Trying to improve US-Saudi relations
US President Joe Biden is trying to push for improved relations as part of a broader plan to strengthen Western influence in the region.
Prince Mohammed said last month that the efforts were bearing fruit, with normalization of diplomatic relations between the countries «getting closer every day.»
At the end of September, an Israeli minister made a historic visit to Saudi Arabia, and a Saudi delegation, in in turn, visited the West Bank, which is under Palestinian control.
The meeting between Mr Sunak and the crown prince came after the pair spoke by phone on Wednesday in an attempt to ease tensions in the region.
Rishi Sunak met Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, on Thursday in Jerusalem
Downing Street said the prime minister «welcomed the leadership of Saudi Arabia in finding a peaceful solution to the crisis.»
“The leaders agreed on the importance of preventing further destabilization in the Middle East, including through Iranian proxies in the region, and committed to coordinate efforts to de-escalate tensions,” the spokesman said.
The Prime Minister pledged Britain's support for Israel's right to defend itself against terror and combat the threat from Hamas.
“He confirmed that the UK will provide additional humanitarian assistance to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and will continue to support the Palestinian people's legitimate aspirations for statehood, together with regional partners such as Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Egypt.”
The Crown Prince's visit to the UK is in doubt.
Prince Mohammed is expected to visit the UK for talks with Mr Sunak this autumn, but it is unclear whether that meeting will now take place.
When asked whether it would take place, the Prime Minister's spokesman said : “We have not made any plans for a visit of this kind.”
It comes after Riyadh on Wednesday joined a host of other Arab capitals in blaming Israel for the bombing of the Ahli Arabi hospital in Gaza.
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Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan and Turkey pointed the finger at the Israeli military over the strike, which was feared to have killed hundreds of Palestinians.
The Saudi Foreign Ministry said: “This This dangerous development forces the international community to abandon the double standards it has used to selectively apply international standards.” law when it comes to Israeli criminal practices and requires a serious and firm stance to ensure the protection of defenseless civilians.”
Israel said the tragedy was caused by a faulty missile fired by Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorists.
This conclusion was supported by a number of independent experts, who said that there were no signs of an Israeli air strike at the crash site.
Mr. Biden also supported this version. On Wednesday, Netanyahu said US intelligence had indicated that «another team» was responsible.
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