Washington DC –
White House States that United States of America (US) is not in a position to assume the role of intermediary mediator Arab Saudi and Iran, which last week announced a deal to restore ties broken for the past seven years. The agreement was reached through the mediation of China.
As reported Al ArabiaTuesday (14/3/2023), the White House also acknowledged that efforts by Beijing to “promote de-escalation” in the Middle East region were not detrimental to US interests.
Apart from announcing an agreement to restore diplomatic relations, Riyadh and Tehran also agreed to reopen diplomatic missions in their respective countries. The agreement between the two countries, which were previously at odds, was reached after a meeting in Beijing, mediated by China’s top diplomat.
White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan responded when asked by reporters how the US views China’s role in brokering the normalization agreement between Saudi Arabia and Iran.
“So, from our point of view, while we have put a lot of diplomatic power into trying to help promote de-escalation, as was the case with the Yemen ceasefire, having other countries like China promote de-escalation is not fundamentally detrimental to US interests, and frankly , it’s like rowing in the same direction,” Sullivan explained.
“We are not in a position to mediate between Saudi Arabia and Iran, given our relationship with the two countries. We have never been, and we are not in such a position today,” he stressed.
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(nvc/ita)