WASHINGTON: Republican US presidential candidate Donald Trump recently spoke with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the New York Times reported on Wednesday, citing two people briefed on the discussion.

The newspaper reported that it was unclear what Trump and the prince, known as MBS, discussed and whether this was their first conversation since Trump, who was president from 2017 to 2021, left office.

Due to a cracked rib, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan postponed plans to travel to Saudi Arabia this week to meet with the crown prince, who is considered the de facto Saudi leader.

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Sullivan had been due to hold talks with the prince amid a US push for progress toward normalizing relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia was Trump’s first foreign trip when he took office in 2017.