US, Saudi Arabia 'closer than ever' on defence pact — White House

The United States and Saudi Arabia are close to a final agreement on a bilateral defence pact after the US national security adviser made significant progress in talks with the Saudis over the weekend, the White House has said.

White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said on Monday the two sides are "closer than we've ever been" on a bilateral agreement that is now "near final."

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan held talks with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and other Saudi officials over the weekend where progress was made, Kirby said. A second US official said, "We are very close to an understanding on the major elements between us."

"We of course will also have to then work on pieces that relate to the Israelis and Palestinians, which is a critical component of any potential normalisation deal," the official said.

Kirby said the timing of a US-Saudi deal was unclear. He said an ultimate objective for Biden is a Palestinian state, but with Israel's war on Gaza, no deal on a state is likely any time soon.

"Of course, the president remains committed to a two-state solution. He recognises that you know, that's not something we're going to see any anytime in the future," he said.

US and Saudi negotiators are seeking to complete work on a bilateral accord expected to call for formal US guarantees to defend the kingdom as well as Saudi access to more advanced US weaponry, in return for halting Chinese arms purchases and restricting Beijing's investment in the country.

Negotiators have been discussing US sales of F-35 fighter jets and other weapons to the Saudis as part of the deal, a US official said.

The potential sale of the F-35s to the Saudis was not guaranteed for a mainly due to Israel's opposition to the deal, but its inclusion in the discussions was significant because Riyadh has desired the stealthy fighter jet for years.

'Qualitative military edge'

Any deal must satisfy a longstanding agreement with Israel that US weapons sold in the region must not impair Israel's "qualitative military edge," guaranteeing US weapons furnished to Israel are "superior in capability" to those sold to its neighbours.

The US Senate Foreign Relations and House of Representatives Foreign Affairs committees, whose members have criticised the kingdom's role in Yemen war, have the right to review, and block, weapons sales under an informal review process.

Lockheed Martin Corp, which makes the jet, referred a request for comment to the government.

The defence pact would be short of a NATO-style agreement, the official said.

The US-Saudi security accord is also expected to involve sharing emerging technologies with Riyadh, including artificial intelligence.

Washington's aim in the negotiations remains Israel's normalisation with neighbouring Arab countries. Once the deal is completed, it would be part of a broad deal presented to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to decide whether to make concessions to secure a deal normalising relations with Saudi Arabia.