US Secretary of State Antony Blinken meets with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at al-Ula in northwestern Saudi Arabia on Jan.8, 2024 (AFP/Evelyn Hockstein)
BEIRUT — Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has told US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in January that he is not personally concerned with the "Palestinian issue," according to a report in The Atlantic.
The report, published Wednesday, outlines 11 months of US negotiations in the region following the Gaza war, citing top-level officials from the US and the Middle East.
It reveals that in a January meeting in al-Ula, Blinken and the crown prince discussed Saudi-Israeli normalization efforts amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza.
“Do I care personally about the Palestinian issue? I don’t, but my people do, so I need to make sure this is meaningful,” the 38-year-old ruler said.
The Atlantic has also mentioned that a Saudi official described this account of the conversation as “incorrect.”
