Biden and MBS Push for Middle East De-Escalation

US President Biden and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman spoke Tuesday by phone and focussed de-escalation in the Middle East while hinting at a possible return to normalisation talks with Israel.

• Biden and bin Salman “affirmed the importance of working toward a sustainable peace between Israelis and Palestinians as soon as the crisis subsides,” according to an official statement.
• “The two leaders agreed on pursuing broader diplomatic efforts to maintain stability across the region and prevent the conflict from expanding,” the White House said.
• Efforts to de-escalate the situation as well as hostage releases are supporting a lessened chance of spillovers and softening crude markets.
• The White House added the two nations will continue co-operations measures "building on the work that was already underway between Saudi Arabia and the United States over recent months."
• The US led, Saudi/Israel normalisation deal has been put on ice at present because of the attacks with fears progress in the talks could have spurred them on.