WASHINGTON, May 20 (Reuters) - The United States and

Saudi Arabia are close to a final agreement on a bilateral

defense pact after the U.S. national security adviser made

significant progress in talks with the Saudis over the weekend,

the White House said on Monday.

White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said

the two sides are "closer than we've ever been" on a bilateral

agreement that is now "near final."

U.S. and Saudi negotiators are seeking to complete work on a

bilateral accord expected to call for formal U.S. guarantees to

defend the kingdom as well as Saudi access to more advanced U.S.

weaponry, in return for halting Chinese arms purchases and

restricting Beijing's investment in the country.

Negotiators have been discussing U.S. sales of F-35 fighter

jets and other weapons to the Saudis as part of the deal, a U.S.

official said.

The potential sale of the F-35s to the Saudis was not

guaranteed for a variety of reasons, but its inclusion in the

discussions was significant because Riyadh has desired the

stealthy fighter jet for years.

Any deal must satisfy a longstanding agreement with Israel

that U.S. weapons sold in the region must not impair Israel's

"qualitative military edge," guaranteeing U.S. weapons furnished

to Israel are "superior in capability" to those sold to its

neighbors.

The U.S. Senate Foreign Relations and House of

Representatives Foreign Affairs committees, whose members have

criticized the kingdom's role in civilian deaths in Yemen, have

the right to review, and block, weapons sales under an informal

review process.

Lockheed Martin Corp ( LMT ), which makes the jet, referred

a request for comment to the government.

The defense pact would be short of a NATO-style

agreement, the official said.

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan held

talks with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and other

Saudi officials over the weekend where progress was made, Kirby

said.

A second U.S. official said, "We are very close to an

understanding on the major elements between us."

"We of course will also have to then work on pieces that

relate to the Israelis and Palestinians, which is a critical

component of any potential normalization deal," the official

said.

The U.S.-Saudi security accord is also expected to

involve sharing emerging technologies with Riyadh, including

artificial intelligence.

Once the deal is completed, it would be part of a broad deal

presented to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to decide

whether to make concessions to secure a deal normalizing

relations with Saudi Arabia.

Kirby said the timing of a U.S.-Saudi deal was unclear. He

said an ultimate objective for Biden is a Palestinian state, but

with Israel at war with the Palestinian militant group Hamas in

Gaza, no deal on a state is likely any time soon.

"Of course, the president remains committed to a two-state

solution. He recognizes that you know, that's not something

we're going to see any anytime in the future," he said.