New Country to Join Abraham Accords: US Envoy
The United States is expected to announce that a new country will join the Abraham Accords, a peace agreement under which several nations have normalized relations with Israel, President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff stated.
Announcement Details
Speaking at the America Business Forum in Miami, Witkoff said,
“I'm flying back to Washington tonight because we're going to announce, tonight, another country coming into the Abraham Accords.”When asked which country would be joining, Witkoff replied,
“I don't know if it's out yet.”
Possible New Member: Kazakhstan
According to Axios, the new member is likely Kazakhstan, a Central Asian republic with longstanding diplomatic ties to Israel. The country is reportedly joining the accords to help “reinvigorate” the agreement. Kazakhstan's president is among five Central Asian leaders scheduled to meet President Trump at the White House in November.
Background on the Abraham Accords
- During Trump's first term, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Morocco normalized relations with Israel in 2020.
- Saudi Arabia had been negotiating normalization with the US, a move that would be historic due to the kingdom's religious significance as home to Islam's two holiest sites.
- However, Saudi Arabia paused its normalization talks following the outbreak of war in Gaza after Hamas's attack on Israel in October 2023.
- The kingdom insists it will not normalize ties without progress toward an independent Palestinian state, a position opposed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Saudi Arabia has long insisted it cannot normalize ties without progress toward an independent Palestinian state.
Author's summary: A new country, likely Kazakhstan, is poised to join the Abraham Accords, aiming to revitalize regional normalization efforts initially advanced during President Trump's first term.