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By Katie Paul
MANAMA (Reuters) – Oman has described Israel as a "Middle Eastern country" on Saturday, the day after a surprise visit by its British prime minister who, according to Washington, could contribute to regional peace efforts.
Oman offers ideas to help Israel and Palestinians meet but does not act as mediator, Yousuf bin Alawi bin Abdullah, minister of the sultanate, told a security summit in Bahrain Foreign Affairs.
"Israel is a state present in the region and we all understand it," bin Alawi said.
"The world is also aware of this fact, maybe it's time for Israel to be treated the same way." [as others states] and also bear the same obligations. "
His comments follow a rare visit by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Oman just days after Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas paid a three-day visit to the Gulf country. The two leaders met with Sultan Qaboos of Oman.
"We are not saying that the road is now easy and paved with flowers, but our priority is to end the conflict and move to a new world," bin Alawi told the summit.
Oman is counting on the United States and on President Donald Trump's efforts to work for "the agreement of the century" (peace in the Middle East), he added.
Bahraini Foreign Minister Khalid Bin Ahmed Al Khalifa voiced his support for Oman for the role of the Sultanate in the attempt to secure Israeli-Palestinian peace, while the Foreign Minister of Saudi Arabia, Adel al-Jubeir said the kingdom was essential to the peace process.
Saudi Arabia and Bahrain attended the three-day summit. US Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis and his Italian and German counterparts also participated, but Jordan's King Abdullah canceled his appearance after a flood that hit the Dead Sea region killed 21 people.
Trump's envoy to the Middle East, Jason Greenblatt, hailed the "warming ties and growing cooperation between our friends in the region" in a tweet Friday night.
"This is a useful step for our peace efforts and it is essential to create an atmosphere of stability, security and prosperity between Israelis, Palestinians and their neighbors." Looking forward to seeing other meetings like this one ! "Said Greenblatt.
CURBING IRAN
Israel and some Gulf states have an interest in reducing the influence of Iran in the region.
Oman has long been in the Middle East what neutral Switzerland is to world diplomacy. The country helped mediate the secret talks between the United States and Iran in 2013, which culminated in the landmark nuclear deal signed in Geneva two years later.
Earlier this year, bin Alawi visited the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem and Netanyahu repeatedly referred to warmer relations with the Gulf states.
He told the Israeli parliament last week that, fearing a nuclear threat from Iran, "Israel and the other Arab countries are closer than they have ever been before" .
Although unusual, Israeli leaders have already visited the Gulf State.
In 1996, the late Shimon Peres went to Oman and Qatar when he was prime minister and opened commercial representation offices for Israel in the two Gulf countries.
His predecessor, the late Yitzhak Rabin, made his first visit to Oman in 1994.
During his visit on Friday, Netanyahu was accompanied by senior officials, including the head of the Mossad intelligence agency and his national security adviser.
(Writing by Hadeel al Sayegh, additional report by Dan Williams in Jerusalem, edited by Clelia Oziel)
