23 Feb. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The United States on Thursday described as “historic” the step taken by the Omani authorities to open its airspace to all airlines, including Israeli ones, in an apparent rapprochement with Israel, a country with which it has no diplomatic ties.
“This historic step completes a process begun last year, during (US) President Joe Biden’s visit to the Middle East region, when Saudi Arabia similarly opened its airspace to all aircraft,” he said. US Homeland Security spokeswoman Adrienne Watson.
Watson specified in a statement that this announcement by Oman “promotes the vision” of a “more integrated, stable and prosperous” region, which affects not only security in the United States, but also in regional countries.
“For the first time in history, passengers flying to and from Israel will now be able to travel on direct routes between Israel, Asia and points in between,” he stressed, adding that Washington is proud to have supported “quiet” diplomatic efforts for months. .
To date, Oman, which applauded the decision of several Arab countries to normalize their diplomatic relations, did not authorize Israeli airlines to use its airspace. The decision by the Omani Civil Aviation Authority, which does not mention Israel in its statement, comes after Saudi Arabia made a similar announcement in July 2022.
