Fri 15 July 2022:
More overflights to and from Israel will be possible due to Saudi Arabia’s announcement that it will open its airspace to all air carriers, a sign that the two countries’ relations are improving.
This was credited to Biden’s “persistent diplomacy” by the US. The decision was the result of the President’s “persistent and principled diplomacy with Saudi Arabia over many months, culminating in his visit today,” according to US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, who also said that Biden “commends” it.
The US president, who is on a Middle East trip and will land in Saudi Arabia later on Friday, was further quoted as saying that he “will have more to say on this breakthrough later today.”
Taking to Twitter Saudi’s General Authority of Civil Aviation said that it “announces the decision to open the Kingdom’s airspace for all air carriers that meet the requirements of the authority for overflying”.
As per the statement, the decision was made to “complement the Kingdom’s efforts aimed at consolidating the Kingdom’s position as a global hub connecting three continents”.
— هيئة الطيران المدني (@ksagaca) July 14, 2022
As per an AFP report, in the past, despite Israel’s best attempts to forge relationships with Arab nations, Riyadh has refused to recognise the Jewish state.
Shortly after the Abraham Accords were announced in 2020, Saudi Arabia declared that UAE planes to “all countries” could overfly the country and even permitted an Israeli plane to fly over while travelling to Abu Dhabi.
Following Friday’s announcement, aeroplanes flying to and from Israel are no longer subject to overflight restrictions.
Israel has pushed for the right to use overflights to reduce connections to Asian destinations.
The Israeli government also wants direct flights from Israel to Saudi Arabia for Muslim pilgrims who currently have to pay for costly layover costs in other countries.
Israel and Saudi Arabia have no diplomatic relations, and the kingdom does not recognise Israel as a state – one possible reason why the Saudi statement did not refer to Israel by name.
Behind the scenes, however, the two sides have been working together on security issues for some time, as both are concerned by the growing influence of their common enemy Iran in the region.
SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES
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