US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, upon launching the first strategic dialogue between his country and Saudi Arabia today, Wednesday, expressed his hope that Riyadh would join the "Abraham" agreement for normalization with Israel, which was signed by the UAE and Bahrain.
During a press conference in Washington with his Saudi counterpart, Faisal bin Farhan, Pompeo called on Riyadh to pressure the Palestinians to push them to return to negotiations with Israel.
The American minister expressed his thanks to Saudi Arabia "for what it had provided for the sake of the success of the Abrahamic agreements," as he put it, in reference to the agreements of normalization of the UAE and Bahrain with Israel.
Meanwhile, Pompeo called on Saudi Arabia to pursue human rights reforms, including guaranteeing freedom of expression and peaceful activity.
He also stated that Washington and Riyadh had agreed to cooperate in order to confront Iranian behavior in the region, adding, "We have affirmed our commitment to confront Iran's malign activities and the threat they pose to the region's security and prosperity."
For his part, the Saudi Foreign Minister warned of what he called the destabilizing Iranian threats, and said that the Kingdom is continuing to confront "the forces of extremism and terrorism that threaten our security and prosperity."
He stressed that his country is looking forward to expanding relations with the United States, strengthening institutional cooperation between them and raising the level of partnership.