By Servet Gunerigok
WASHINGTON (AA) - The US applauded engagement efforts Tuesday between Saudi Arabia and Palestine hours after Riyadh’s first ambassador arrived in Palestine.
"We commend increased engagement between Saudi Arabia and the Palestinian Authority. We see that as a helpful step," State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said at a news conference.
"We always commend additional engagement in the region," he added.
Nayef bin Bandar al-Sudairi presented his credentials to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah. The Saudi diplomat arrived in the West Bank city early Tuesday via the al-Karama border crossing from Jordan for a two-day visit.
"This step will contribute to strengthening the strong brotherly relations between Palestine and Saudi Arabia and the two brotherly peoples," said Abbas.
The Saudi envoy described his visit as “historic.”
"This visit will be the starting point of boosting relations in all fields," he said.
Al-Sudairi is the first Saudi ambassador to Palestine. The kingdom had a Consulate General in Jerusalem but it was closed with Israel’s occupation of the city in 1967, when the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, was under Jordanian administration at that time.
Turning to normalization between Saudi Arabia and Israel, Miller said the US has been working to achieve that goal and President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken have "spent a good bit of time on it."
"One of the things that we have heard in our engagements with Palestinians and that we have communicated on their behalf to our Israeli counterparts is that there will have to be a significant Palestinian component of any final agreement," said Miller.