US Republican Senator Lindsey Graham has said he spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and believed that an agreement to normalise relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia could be reached before the end of the year.

Graham, who is in Michigan campaigning for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, told Reuters that Netanyahu supported work on a deal with Saudi Arabia, adding that the next US administration was unlikely to be able to secure enough votes in Congress after President Joe Biden leaves office on January 20.

“I think the time to do this is on Biden’s watch,” said Graham, who had also met with Netanyahu earlier this month. He said Vice President Kamala Harris was “far more beholden to the left” and had not shown interest in working for such an agreement, but Biden was keen to see a deal get done and would be able to mobilise the needed Democratic votes.

Graham expressed confidence that a solution could be found to ensure creation of a sovereign state in a Palestine that was de-militarized and could not threaten Israel.

“We’re moving in the right direction,” he said, adding that he expected Saudi de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to be supportive since absence of a deal would undermine his economic goals.