RIYADH, Nov 29 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia has abandoned its pursuit of an ambitious defense treaty with Washington in return for normalizing relations with Israel and is now pushing for a more modest military cooperation agreement, two Saudi and four Western officials told Reuters.

Saudi Arabia has abandoned an ambitious defense deal with Washington in exchange for the normalization of relations with Israel. Now, Riyadh insists on a more modest military cooperation agreement, reports Reuters.

Saudi Arabia has abandoned its pursuit of an ambitious defence treaty with Washington in return for normalising relations with Israel and is now pushing for a more modest military cooperation agreement,

FIFA has approved the quality of Saudi Arabia's bid to host the 2034 World Cup in a 110-page evaluation that noted higher risks related to human rights in the oil-rich kingdom.

Saudi Arabia has made history, securing the highest-ever bidding score of 419.8 out of 500 in its quest to host the 2034 FIFA World Cup, according to FIFA.Read More: The Saudi Cup 2024: World’s Riches

Saudi Arabia's bid to host the 2034 football World Cup was considered "medium risk" for human rights by Fifa in its evaluation report, which said implementing reforms could take "significant time