WASHINGTON: Jared Kushner, former US President Donald Trump's son-in-law, has discussed US-Saudi diplomatic negotiations involving Israel with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman several times since leaving the Trump White House, a source familiar with the discussions said.
The source did not specify when the talks took place or whether they took place before or after the Gaza conflict began. But they included discussions about normalizing relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia, a key diplomatic goal of both the Biden and Trump administrations, the source said.
Kushner, 43, has close ties to Saudi Arabia, which congressional investigators say has invested $2 billion in his private equity fund, Affinity Partners, which Kushner set up after leaving the White House.
News that Kushner and Saudi Arabia’s de facto leader discussed a peace deal that U.S. President Joe Biden has also tried to broker illustrates the importance that both Republicans and Democrats place on an increasingly unstable Middle East amid a looming presidential election. The talks also point to how Trump might manage the crisis in the region if voters return him to power — and renew questions about whether Kushner’s financial ties to Riyadh could influence U.S. policy under his father-in-law.
Saudi Arabia’s investment in the Kushner Fund has been criticized by ethics experts, congressional Democrats and even some Republicans, who have expressed concern that Saudi Arabia’s stake could appear like a payoff since Kushner worked on Saudi issues before leaving the Trump White House.
In a Sept. 24 letter to Convergence, Democratic Senator Ron Wyden, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, wrote that Saudi Arabia’s investments in the Kushner Fund raise “clear conflict-of-interest concerns.”
Aveniti and Kushner denied that the Saudi investments were a conflict of interest. Aveniti said Wyden and his Senate staff do not understand the realities of private equity. “The reason so many people go to Jared for insight and his opinions is because he has had such a successful track record,” a Kushner spokesman said.
The source close to Kushner declined to provide further details about the discussions with the crown prince, also known as MbS, saying he did not want to jeopardize the friendship between the two. “It would not be appropriate for me to share that,” the source said.
A spokesman for the Saudi Embassy in Washington did not respond to questions about Kushner’s discussions with bin Salman.
To encourage Saudi Arabia to recognize Israel, the Biden administration has offered Riyadh security guarantees, help with a civilian nuclear program and a renewed push for a Palestinian state. The deal could reshape the Middle East by uniting two longtime enemies and tying the world’s largest oil exporter to Washington at a time when China is making inroads in the region.
But the conflict in Gaza has thrown the talks into uncertainty. The war and humanitarian crisis have bolstered Arab and Muslim support for the Palestinians in their decades-long struggle with Israel over land and statehood, making it difficult for Riyadh to discuss recognizing Israel without meeting Palestinian aspirations.
The US election is also a factor as Trump, a Republican, competes with Vice President Kamala Harris, a Democrat, in a historically tight race for the White House.
Saudi Arabia’s relationship with Trump has been remarkably close. Trump’s first foreign trip as president was to Riyadh in 2017, accompanied by Kushner. After the murder of Saudi dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Trump stood by the crown prince despite U.S. intelligence assessments that he authorized the killing. Bin Salman has denied involvement.
If Trump returns to the White House, the crown prince would welcome a deal with Israel under his leadership, two sources familiar with the Saudi strategy said. If Harris wins, the deal would continue to move forward, the sources said. Either way, the sources see it as a win-win for bin Salman, even if it requires a few more months of patience.
On September 27, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu referred to the possibility of an agreement in positive terms. “What a blessing such peace with Saudi Arabia is,” he said in a speech to the UN General Assembly.
Normalizing Israeli-Saudi relations would represent an expansion of the Abraham Accords sealed while Trump was in office. The agreements normalized relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan. Kushner, who is close to Israel, led the negotiations as a senior White House adviser to Trump.
Three sources close to Kushner said that if Trump wins the November presidential election, they expect Kushner to participate in the Saudi talks, albeit in an unofficial capacity. A Kushner spokesman denied that he was seeking such a role.
Ethics experts say that if Kushner were to engage in diplomatic talks as a private citizen in a second Trump term, it could pose a significant conflict of interest, putting Kushner in the unusual position of conducting government-level negotiations with one of his major financial investors.
While Kushner and his wife, Ivanka Trump, have largely stayed away from Trump campaign events, they were present at the Republican National Convention in July, sitting and applauding in the family row behind Trump.
(Reuters)
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