Ahead of US President Joe Biden's visit to Saudi Arabia on Friday, the kingdom announced that it is opening its airspace to "all airlines." In plain language, this means that Saudi Arabia is lifting its long-standing ban on Israeli flights over the country.

Biden has recently visited Israel and will become the first American leader to fly directly from there to Saudi Arabia.

The opening is another step towards normalizing relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel, and the White House is not slow to take credit.

”"This decision is the result of the President's many months of persistent and principled diplomacy with Saudi Arabia, culminating in today's visit," said US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan in a statement after the announcement. Source: TT