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President Donald Trump is expected to reach a deal with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman that will allow the kingdom to purchase F-35 stealth aircraft, according to an administration official.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss details not yet made public, said Trump and the crown prince – known as MBS – intend to sign economic and defense deals during a visit to the White House on Tuesday. Those agreements would also include a deal on the purchase of liquefied natural gas, the official said, without giving further details.
If the F-35 sale is completed, it would be a major concession to Saudi Arabia as Washington and Riyadh seek to deepen their ties and Trump is pressing the country to rejoin the Abraham Accords and normalize ties with Israel.
The Saudis are seeking to buy F-35 aircraft, which are made by Lockheed Martin Corp and are among the world’s most advanced jets, according to officials familiar with the talks. Each jet cost approximately $100 million.
There have been signs that Trump is willing to sign off on the purchase, despite some major hurdles. A key point is that Israel is the only state in the Middle East that has fighter aircraft and it is keen to protect that monopoly, which it says provides a significant edge to its security.
A Pentagon report cited Beijing’s defense ties with Riyadh as raising concerns that China could acquire the aircraft’s advanced technology if the sale to Saudi Arabia was approved, The New York Times reported.
The potential F-35 sale is one of several issues Trump and MBS are expected to address during the visit, with access to artificial intelligence chips and nuclear technology, the future of Gaza and the issue of Saudi relations with Israel also high on the agenda.
Relations between the US and Saudi Arabia were strained following the 2018 killing of newspaper columnist Jamal Khashoggi, but Trump has looked to build closer ties with the crown prince.
The White House did not respond to a request for comment.
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without any modifications to the text.
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