U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met Saudi Arabia’s de-facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Monday to kick off his newest Middle East tour amid Israel’s conflict on Gaza.
Blinken’s assembly with the Saudi chief lasted about two hours. Blinken didn’t reply to shouted questions from reporters on the way it went as he returned to his lodge, however waved as he walked by.
Saudi officers have stated the dominion remains to be concerned about normalizing relations with Israel in a probably historic deal, however provided that there’s a credible plan to create a Palestinian state.
Blinken “underscored the importance of addressing humanitarian needs in Gaza and preventing further spread of the conflict,” and he and the crown prince mentioned “the importance of building a more integrated and prosperous region,” the State Department stated in a press release.
Blinken is about to go to Egypt subsequent, adopted by Qatar, Israel and the Israeli-occupied West Bank this week, as he pushes to advance the Egyptian- and Qatari-mediated conversations with the Palestinian resistance group Hamas on a deal to free Israeli hostages held in Gaza.
His Middle East journey, the fifth because the Oct. 7 Hamas incursion, takes place throughout a interval that senior U.S. officers describe as one of the crucial harmful for the area in a long time.
The battle has escalated as Iranian-backed teams have entered the fray and fired on U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria, whereas Yemen’s Houthis attacked delivery routes within the Red Sea.
The U.S. has been finishing up retaliatory strikes on Iran-backed militias throughout Syria, Iraq and Yemen in response to a drone strike final week in Jordan that killed three American troops and wounded dozens.
Blinken will nonetheless attempt to reinforce the message that the Biden administration neither seeks conflict with Iran nor desires the battle to unfold additional regardless of calls by some opposition Republicans in Congress advocating for assaults inside Iran.
The Pentagon additionally stated it doesn’t imagine Tehran desires conflict both. Iran has thus far prevented any direct function within the battle, even because it backs these militia teams.
A key precedence is for Blinken to “deliver a message directly to countries in the region that the United States does not want to see the conflict escalated and will not escalate the conflict,” a senior U.S. official had advised reporters en path to Riyadh.
“It’s important to show up and say it on one-on-one,” they added.
Source: www.dailysabah.com