Saudi Arabia is optimistic about its relations with the United States under the new administration of President Joe Biden, Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan said on Thursday in a TV interview. "We are optimistic of having excellent relations with the US under the new administration," the top Saudi foreign minister told Al Arabiya. The initial appointments made by President Biden "showed an understanding of the common issues," said Prince Faisal in the interview. With regard to the Yemeni crisis, the Saudi foreign minister said: "The Biden administration will see that we have common goals with regards to the situation in Yemen". Prince Faisal warned, the Iran-backed Houthi militia must realize that is in the best interest of Yemen to put an end to the fighting. "The Houthis will facilitate reaching a solution if they decide that the interest of Yemen is the most important," the foreign minister said, adding that the recent US designation of the Yemeni militia as a terrorist organization was justified. Prince Faisal also said that the Riyadh Agreement was a "fundamental building block" for reaching a political solution in Yemen. On the Iranian nuclear deal, the Saudi foreign minister that President Biden also said Gulf allies and Israel would be included in any future talks that focused on Iran's nuclear capabilities as well as its ballistic missiles and malign regional activity. The previous Iran deal, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), was "weak" because there was a lack of coordination with the countries in the region, Prince Faisal added. Commenting on the recently concluded GCC summit in AlUla which paved the way to the resolution of the Gulf conflict, Prince Faisal said that Saudi Arabia will open its embassy in Doha within "days." "All four countries are in agreement on the importance of reconciliation with Qatar," Prince Faisal added, in reference to Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt. — SG
