US peacekeepers to leave two Red Sea islands this year: Biden

By Mohammad Rajawi

ANKARA (AA) – US President Joe Biden said his country’s peacekeepers will leave the Red Sea islands of Tiran and Sanafir later this year.

Biden made the statement during his meeting late Friday with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Jeddah.

The US president is currently visiting the oil-rich kingdom on the last stop of his regional tour that took him to Israel and the West Bank.

According to the state news agency SPA, Biden and bin Salman discussed aspects of bilateral cooperation between the two countries as well as challenges on the regional and international arenas, without providing further details.

In April 2016, Egypt and Saudi Arabia signed a border demarcation agreement by which sovereignty over the two islands were transferred to Saudi Arabia.

International peacekeeping forces were stationed on the two Islands following the signing of the Camp David peace accord between Egypt and Israel in 1979.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar