RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister said on Thursday that some of the bilateral agreements the kingdom has been negotiating with Washington are “not that tied” to the normalization of Saudi relations with Israel and are “moving ahead.”

He noted that potential US-Saudi agreements on trade and artificial intelligence are “not tied to any third parties” and “can progress probably quite quickly.”

“Some of the more significant defense cooperation agreements are much more complicated. We would certainly welcome the opportunity to finalize them before the end of the Biden administration's term, but that’s reliant on factors outside of our control,” he said.

“The other work streams are not that connected, and some of them are progressing quite quickly, and we hope to see movement forward.”

Ruling out the possibility of Saudi Arabia recognizing Israel without the establishment of a Palestinian state, Prince Faisal stated that this remains the only viable solution, regardless of Israel’s acceptance.

Speaking at the Future Investment Initiative summit in Riyadh, he emphasized that the creation of a Palestinian state is rooted in international law and UN resolutions.

“In reality, the establishment of a Palestinian state is not tied to whether or not Israel accepts it; it’s tied to the principles of international law,” he said. “The UN resolutions that led to the establishment of the state of Israel clearly envisioned a Palestinian state as well, so we need to make that happen.”

Prince Faisal asserted that normalization of Saudi-Israeli ties is “off the table” until there is a resolution regarding Palestinian statehood. He further highlighted the broader implications, stating, “The security of the region as a whole is at risk if we do not address the rights of the Palestinians.”

Addressing the ongoing crisis in Gaza, he called for a cease-fire, emphasizing the dangers of an Israeli overreaction following the events of October 7th. “We have seen the reality that Israel’s reaction and its continuing military assault have led to a humanitarian catastrophe,” he remarked. He described the situation in northern Gaza as dire, with blockades and no safe zones for civilians, stating, “That can only be described as a form of genocide. It is certainly against humanitarian law, and that is feeding a continuing cycle of violence.”

On the prospects of an immediate cease-fire, Prince Faisal expressed caution, saying, “I hope it’s the case that we can see a cease-fire in the immediate hours, in the immediate short term. I’m not sure that that’s the case. I don’t have the details.”

He acknowledged US efforts to facilitate negotiations, adding, “We are not part of the direct negotiations, but we certainly support the efforts that the US has undertaken to find a pathway to a ceasefire. I hope it comes to fruition.”

He noted that previous attempts at cease-fire negotiations had failed due to new demands from Israel. “In most of those instances where the talks collapsed, it has been because new requirements or demands were added on the part of Israel,” he explained.

Prince Faisal also addressed Saudi Arabia’s position on Lebanon, emphasizing a hands-off approach. “We have never fully disengaged. But we believe it’s up to the Lebanese politicians to seek a direction that puts Lebanon on the right track,” he stated.

He added: “It’s not up to any outside influence, any outside countries, or any outside powers to tell the Lebanese what to do or to influence the political process in Lebanon. That is our opinion.”

Regarding relations with Iran, Prince Faisal indicated that recent discussions focused on regional de-escalation. “I hope that Iran, like us, is working toward regional de-escalation on all fronts, not just in Lebanon. That’s very much the focus of my conversations with my Iranian counterpart,” he said. While he could not be “confident of anything that is in the control of other parties,” he emphasized the importance of avoiding further escalation.

“I have made it clear to our Iranian counterparts that it is important to avoid any further escalation. My sense is that they realize the risks of escalation and would prefer to avoid it. But, of course, they have their own strategic calculations.”

LONDON: A Russian court has fined Google a staggering $20 decillion, the largest financial penalty ever issued.

In fact, $20 decillion (20 followed by 33 zeros), which in Russia’s own currency is equivalent to 2 undecillion rubles (a 37-digit figure), far exceeds the combined gross domestic product of every country in the world, which is estimated to be about $110 trillion (a figure with a mere 13 zeros).

The amount dwarfs the $206 billion paid by tobacco companies to the US government in 1998, which remains the largest civil lawsuit settlement.

Google said: “We have ongoing legal matters relating to Russia. For example, civil judgments that include compounding penalties have been imposed upon us in connection with disputes regarding the termination of accounts, including those of sanctioned parties. We do not believe these ongoing legal matters will have a material adverse effect.”

The fine, which a judge said contained “many, many zeros,” relates to a dispute that began in 2020 when Google-owned YouTube banned Tsargrad, a Russian ultra-nationalist, pro-Kremlin channel, from the platform in compliance with US sanctions.

Since then, Google has blocked more than 1,000 YouTube channels and more than 5.5 million videos from Russia, halted advertising services in the country in March 2022, and paused monetization of content that supports Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

In response, a number of relatively small fines were imposed by Russian courts but they went unpaid and Russian business newspaper RBC reported that the amounts owed have grown immensely as result of compound penalties initially set at $1,025 a day and doubling each week.

Details of the current total of the fine emerged on Tuesday, as Google reported quarterly earnings of $88.3 billion for the three months to September. Based on that amount, it would take the company more than 56 septillion (a figure with 24 zeros) years to pay off the fine, which is more than 4 trillion times the age of the universe.

Dmitry Peskov, a spokesperson for the Kremlin, urged Google parent company Alphabet to stop blocking Russian YouTube channels. However, he conceded that the massive fine, which he said he cannot even pronounce, is purely symbolic.

“These demands, they simply demonstrate the essence of our channels’ claims against Google,” Peskov said. “Google should not restrict the activities of our broadcasters, but Google is doing this.

“Probably, this (growing fine) should be a reason for Google’s management to take notice and rectify the situation. It’s the best thing the company can do.”