At the request of his U.S. counterpart, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant is expected in the coming days to speak to Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov for the first since taking office more than five months ago, two senior Israeli defense officials told Axios.
Why it matters: The Israeli government has taken a careful approach to the war in Ukraine, hoping not to create tension with Russia and harm Israeli security interests in Syria. But the Pentagon has for months pressed Israel to do more to help Kyiv.
Brett McGurk, President Biden’s senior Middle East adviser, arrived in Saudi Arabia this weekend for talks with Saudi officials that will focus on the administration's efforts to reach a normalization agreement between Israel and the kingdom as well as other issues, two U.S. officials told Axios.
Why it matters: McGurk's trip, first reported by the NYT, is part of an effort by the White House to make a diplomatic push for a Saudi-Israeli peace deal in the next six to seven months before the presidential election campaign consumes President Biden’s agenda, as Axios reported last month.
President Biden on Thursday lauded "Flamin' Hot," the new movie that tells the true(ish) storyof the creation of the hugely popular Flamin' Hot Cheetos, during a screening of the film at the White House.
Driving the news: The Bidens hosted lawmakers, Cabinet members and the film's cast and crew on the South Lawn in what the president said was the first time a movie focused on the Hispanic community had been publicly screened at the White House, the president said.
