Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem on January 22, 2017.
Ronen Zvulun | AFP | Getty Images
President Joe Biden had a long phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday, the first time Biden spoke to a Middle Eastern leader as president.
“The conversation was very warm and friendly and continued for about an hour,” said Netanyahu in a statement that was the first indication that the call had taken place.
Netanyahu shared this statement in two tweets written in Hebrew, along with a photo of the smiling prime minister holding a phone to his ear.
The White House, in a reading released on Wednesday, said that Biden during the call “affirmed his personal history of unwavering commitment to Israel’s security and conveyed his intention to strengthen all aspects of the US-Israel partnership, including our stronghold. defense cooperation “.
“The leaders discussed the importance of ongoing consultations on regional security issues, including Iran,” said the reading.
“The president emphasized US support for the recent normalization of relations between Israel and the countries of the Arab and Muslim world. He stressed the importance of working to promote peace throughout the region, including between Israelis and Palestinians,” he added.
“Together, they affirmed their common interest in continued strategic cooperation to address the many challenges that the region faces,” said the reading.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said on Tuesday that Netanyahu would be the first Middle East leader with whom Biden would speak as president.
The call signals that the new United States government intends to maintain close ties with Israel that were strengthened during Donald Trump’s presidency.
Netanyahu’s statement said he and Biden “noted their long-standing personal connection and said they would work together to continue to strengthen the unwavering alliance between Israel and the US”
“President Biden and Prime Minister Netanyahu discussed the future progress of peace agreements, the Iranian threat and regional challenges and agreed to continue the dialogue.”
Biden also “praised Prime Minister Netanyahu for his leadership in the fight against the coronavirus,” said Netanyahu’s statement, adding that “the two exchanged ideas on ways to deal with the pandemic”.
The Netanyahu call came a day after Psaki said the United States plans to “recalibrate” its relationship with Saudi Arabia, an extremely influential power in the region.
In early 2020, then-candidate Biden vowed to take a tougher stance on the Islamic kingdom than Trump, who cooperated closely with Saudi leaders and was reluctant to criticize the kingdom for its human rights violations.
It is not yet clear how Netanyahu’s relationship with Biden compares to his acceptance of Trump. The Israeli leader applauded Trump’s decision to withdraw the U.S. from the Obama-era nuclear deal with Iran, to which Biden said he wants to return.
The Biden government also took steps to restore relations with the Palestinians after they severed ties with Israel and the U.S. under Trump.
– CNBC’s Dan Mangan contributed to this article