nuclear-news

Amid Blinken visit, top Saudi diplomat says kingdom seeks U.S. nuclear aid

PBS. Jun 8, 2023 

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister said after meeting with the visiting U.S. secretary of state on Thursday that while the kingdom would welcome U.S. aid in building its civilian nuclear program, “there are others that are bidding.”

Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan was responding to a question about recent news reports that Saudi Arabia is asking for U.S. aid in building its own nuclear program in exchange for establishing diplomatic relations with Israel.

“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,” he said. “Obviously we would like to build our program with the best technology in the world.”

Prince Faisal went on to say that normalization with Israel would have “limited benefits” without “finding a pathway to peace for the Palestinian people.” He did not say whether the nuclear issue is linked to normalization.

The exchange came at the end of a two-day visit to the kingdom in which U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with senior Saudi officials, including the country’s de facto leader, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and co-hosted a meeting of the global coalition fighting the Islamic State group………………………………………………………………………………………….

Critics say Saudi Arabia’s diplomatic efforts and its push into international sports are aimed at repairing the kingdom’s image after the 2018 killing and dismemberment of Jamal Khashoggi, a prominent Saudi dissident and Washington Post columnist. U.S. intelligence concluded that Prince Mohammed likely approved the operation carried out by Saudi agents — allegations he denies.

Critics also point to an unprecedented crackdown on dissent in recent years, with authorities jailing everyone from liberal women’s rights activists to ultra-conservative Islamists, and even targeting Saudis living in the United States.

Blinken said “human rights are always on the agenda” and that he had raised “specific cases,” but did not say whether any progress had been made on the release of detainees or the lifting of travel bans on prominent activists…… https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/amid-blinken-visit-top-saudi-diplomat-says-kingdom-seeks-u-s-nuclear-aid

June 10, 2023 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | politics international, Saudi Arabia