ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met with US President Donald Trump in the White House on Tuesday, expressing Riyadh's readiness to normalize ties with Israel and join the Abraham Accords, though stressing that the kingdom needs a “clear path” to Palestinian statehood before proceeding with the move.

US President Donald Trump received Salman at the White House on Tuesday, marking the latter's first visit to Washington since the killing of dissident Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul in 2018, widely believed to have been orchestrated by the de facto Saudi leader.

In the Oval Office, Salman termed the killing a "huge mistake," asserting that it had been thoroughly investigated. The US president, for his part, called the late Khashoggi "extremely controversial" and insisted that the crown prince knew "nothing about it."

The visit comes as Trump has been saying he worked to advance normalization between Saudi Arabia and Israel, citing it as part of the Abraham Accords he spearheaded during his first term.

Salman on Tuesday said that Riyadh wants "to be part of the Abraham Accords" and normalize relations with Israel but needs to see a “clear path” to Palestinian statehood before approving such a move, AFP reported.

The Abraham Accords, first signed in 2020, formalized commercial and diplomatic ties between Israel and three Arab nations, part of a US-led effort to promote long-term stability in the Middle East amid the ongoing ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Salman further emphasized that Riyadh is working on the matter and noted that it "can prepare the right situation as soon as possible," he added.

The UN Security Council on Monday gave its backing to a Trump-proposed Gaza peace plan that has brought about a tenuous ceasefire in Gaza, thus authorizing the deployment of a prospective multinational stabilization force to manage the peace process.

On Sunday, Israeli ministers reiterated their rejection of the establishment of a Palestinian state, vowing to completely demilitarize Gaza and disarm Hamas.

Israel's offensive in Gaza has killed around 70,000 people, most of whom are civilians, according to Gaza's health ministry. The bloodshed has drawn growing international backlash, most recently seen in a torrent of recognition of Palestinian statehood by Western countries.