President Joe Biden on Wednesday set off on his second day of high-level meetings at the U.N. General Assembly in New York, sitting down with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the morning ahead of an audience and event with Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in the afternoon.
Despite months of speculation and tension surrounding a Biden-Netanyahu sit-down, the two leaders both spoke about the significance of their decades-long relationship to kick off their first face-to-face meeting since the Israeli prime minister’s return to power.
“Our friendship goes a long way,” Netanyahu told Biden.
During brief remarks, Biden said despite “some differences,” his commitment to Israel is “ironclad,” pledging the two would discuss “hard issues.”
“That is upholding democratic values that lie at the heart of our partnership, including the checks and balances in our systems,” he said.
Biden has been openly critical of Netanyhu’s overhaul of the country’s judicial system. And the meeting’s location – on the sidelines of the General Assembly in New York rather than at the White House, where Netanyahu has been a frequent visitor over the years – has been the source of some controversy.
The White House has also expressed concerns about Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians as Netanyahu’s coalition expands Israeli settlement construction on occupied lands claimed by the Palestinians for a future state. The U.S. president said the leaders would discuss possible paths to a two-state solution.
Nonetheless, the two men both emphasized their shared goals, with Biden reiterating the importance of ensuring Iran “never, never acquires a nuclear weapon.”
Netanyahu stressed the United States’ leadership is essential when it comes to forging “a historic peace between Israel and Saudi Arabia.”
“I think such a peace would go a long way for us to advance the end of the Arab-Israeli conflict, achieve reconciliation between the Islamic world and the Jewish state and advance a genuine peace between Israel and the Palestinians.” the Israeli prime minister said.
But such a push for diplomatic relations between the two nations involves broader asks of the U.S. from Saudi Arabia, including defense guarantees and nuclear cooperation.
Saudi Arabia has also said Israeli concessions to the Palestinians is necessary.
“If you and I ten years ago were talking about normalization with Saudi Arabia, I think we’d look at each other like ‘who has been drinking what?” Biden said.
“Good Irish whiskey,” Netanyahu quipped back.
Despite the attention on the meeting’s location, Biden did not rule out an Oval Office sit down, telling Netanyahu “I hope we’ll see each other in Washington by the end of the year.” And true to his word, Biden invited Netanyahu to D.C. “before the end of the year,” according to a readout of the meeting provided by the White House.
Per the White House’s readout of the summit between the two leaders, Biden “reaffirmed the unbreakable bond” between the U.S. and Israel while also emphasizing “the need to take immediate measures to improve the security and economic situation, maintain the viability of a two-state solution, and promote a just and lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians” in regards to tensions and violence in the West Bank, and reiterating his concerns about “any fundamental changes to Israel’s democratic system, absent the broadest possible consensus.”
The two leaders also restated their commitment to countering Iran and making sure the country never acquires a nuclear weapon and discussed progress related to “any fundamental changes to Israel’s democratic system, absent the broadest possible consensus,” among other issues, according to the White House.
Also on Wednesday, Biden will meet with da Silva before taking part in an event with the Brazilian president and labor leaders from both nations. The two are expected to announce a first-of-its-kind U.S.-Brazil global initiative to “to advance the rights of working people around the world,” according to senior administration officials.
