Biden: ‘US peacekeeping forces to leave Tiran and Sanafir’

US President Joe Biden announced on Friday that his country’s peacekeeping forces on the Red Sea islands of Tiran and Sanafir would vacate by the end of the year.

This came during Biden’s meeting in Jeddah with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman on the sidelines of his first visit to the kingdom since his accession to the presidency, according to Associated Press.

Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported that the crown prince and Biden held official talks at Al-Salam Royal Palace in Jeddah and then chaired a meeting in the presence of a number of officials of the two countries.

SPA added that the two sides: “Discussed aspects of cooperation between the two countries in a number of fields and discussed ways to confront challenges in the region and the world.”

It is expected that Biden will participate in an Arab-American summit on Saturday in Jeddah, which will be attended by the leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries (Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman), in addition to Egypt, Jordan and Iraq.

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