Yusuf Alioglu and Mohammad Sio
12 February 2025•Update: 12 February 2025
ISTANBUL
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan on Wednesday met with his French counterpart Jean-Noel Barrot to discuss ways to advance Middle Eastern security and peace efforts.
The discussions took place during bin Farhan's visit to France, where he led Saudi Arabia's delegation to the "Artificial Intelligence Action Summit," which was held in Paris on Monday and Tuesday and attended by many international leaders and tech executives.
The Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement on X that bin Farhan and Barrot reviewed “the relations between the two friendly countries and ways to enhance them across various fields.”
The two top diplomats also addressed “regional developments and the ongoing efforts to achieve security and peace in the region,” the ministry added.
These talks come amid growing risks to the Middle East peace process, particularly regarding the Israeli-Palestinian two-state solution, which has broad international support.
Tensions have escalated since the inauguration of President Donald Trump in January, with US positions heavily favoring Israel.
This includes a Washington plan proposed by Trump, which called for the US to take control of the Gaza Strip after evacuating its residents, as well as the Trump administration's consideration of recognizing “Israel’s sovereignty over the West Bank.”
The proposals for Palestinian displacement came amid a ceasefire agreement that took effect in Gaza on Jan. 19, suspending Israel’s genocidal war, which has killed more than 48,200 Palestinians and left the enclave in ruins.
While Trump did not explicitly rule out a two-state solution, officials from his administration indicated that he had “not excluded the possibility in the future,” although he believes that any potential Palestinian state should be limited to the West Bank.
The US plan for Gaza has faced strong opposition at the Palestinian, Arab, and international levels.
Saudi Arabia maintains its commitment to establishing a Palestinian state based on the borders of 1967, with East Jerusalem as its capital, the only path to potentially establishing relations with Israel.
