US President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu laid any tensions to rest on Thursday AEDT by finally holding their first phone call since the change of administration in Washington.
Mr Netanyahu was one of the last foreign leaders to get a call from Mr Biden, who took office on January 20, despite Israel’s special relationship with the US.
But both sides stressed their close ties during the call, which Mr Biden said at The White House was a “good conversation”.
The White House said Mr Biden registered “support” for a series of agreements brokered by Donald Trump on normalising relations between Israel and Arab and Muslim countries. And the President “affirmed his personal history of steadfast commitment to Israel’s security and conveyed his intent to strengthen all aspects of the US-Israel partnership, including our strong defence co-operation,” a statement said.
Mr Netanyahu’s media adviser said the talk was “very warm and friendly” and lasted about an hour. “The two leaders noted their longstanding personal connection” and agreed to strengthen the countries’ alliance, they said.
The Israeli Prime Minister and US President “discussed the future advancement of the peace accords, the Iranian threat and regional challenges, and agreed to continue their dialogue”.
Read the article in The Australian (AFP).