US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken has arrived in Saudi Arabia. This is his first stop as part of a large-scale tour of the Middle East. The purpose of the trip is to promote talks on normalizing relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel, as well as to make progress in the dialogue on the issue of governance of Gaza at the end of hostilities, Voice of America writes.
The U.S. diplomatic chief's fifth trip to the region since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel comes amid U.S. retaliatory strikes against pro-Iranian militants in Syria, Iraq and Yemen in response to a drone strike in Jordan last week.
Later in the week, Blinken will visit Egypt, Qatar and Israel, pushing to advance negotiations with Hamas (mediated by Egypt and Qatar) to reach an agreement to release hostages held by Hamas militants. Blinken will also discuss the idea of a cease-fire put forward in January at a Paris meeting of senior U.S., Israeli, Egyptian and Qatari officials.
In Riyadh, Blinken is meeting with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman as well as Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud.
"Urgently addressing humanitarian needs in Gaza and strengthening stability in the Middle East are priorities we share with Saudi Arabia," Blinken told Farhan.
