US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Wednesday that the United States will have some “good deals” to sign when Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman visits Washington next week and meets President Donald Trump.
Speaking to reporters after a meeting of Group of Seven (G7) foreign ministers in Canada, Rubio said, as quoted by Reuters, "We'll have some good agreements to sign with them ... I feel good about where it's at. There's still a few things that need to be tightened up and finalized, and we're going to have a good meeting next week.”
Rubio did not elaborate, but recent reports indicated that Saudi Arabia and the US had been discussing a potential defense-related agreement.
The Saudi Crown Prince’s visit to Washington comes as Trump continues efforts to expand the Abraham Accords, the normalization framework he brokered in 2020 between Israel and four Arab nations: the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan, and Morocco.
While the Trump administration has made repeated overtures to Riyadh, Saudi officials have long stated that a Palestinian state would be a condition for Saudi Arabia to normalize ties with Israel.
A senior member of the Saudi royal family said late last week that while normalization with Israel is not currently on the agenda, a significant American effort is expected to “lay the groundwork” for renewing the process.
Speaking to Kan 11 News, the source said the US administration aims to use the visit to restart a political dialogue between Riyadh and Jerusalem, similar to the talks held prior to the October 7 massacre.
“The goal is to thaw the ice between the countries,” he said, adding that this is a US initiative aimed at narrowing the gaps created by the war in Gaza and bringing the sides closer together.
Rubio in his remarks on Wednesday also expressed concerns that a spate of violence in Judea and Samaria could spill over and undermine US-backed peace efforts in Gaza.
"I hope not," Rubio replied when asked whether the recent violence could endanger the Gaza ceasefire. "We don't expect it to. We'll do everything we can to make sure it doesn't happen."
His comments followed a series of violent incidents in Judea and Samaria involving a small group of extremists in Judea and Samaria.