PIYASEY KEY PAAS KOONWAN KHUD CHAL KAR AAYA: THE WELL GOES TO THE THIRSTY

Blinken to visit Saudi Arabia to discuss ‘strategic cooperation’

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will visit Saudi Arabia next week, his first trip to the kingdom since Tehran and Riyadh agreed to re-establish diplomatic relations in a deal brokered by Beijing.

The Department of State said on Friday that the top United States diplomat will meet with Saudi officials and attend Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) talks during his visit, starting on June 6.

Blinken will “discuss US-Saudi strategic cooperation on regional and global issues and a range of bilateral issues including economic and security cooperation”, the State Department said in a statement.

He is also set to co-host a meeting for the global coalition against ISIL (ISIS) to “address the continuing threat of ISIS and reaffirm our commitment to ensure its enduring defeat”, the department added.

US officials have repeatedly asserted their commitment to the alliance with Saudi Arabia and to the kingdom’s security. Since Riyadh’s normalisation agreement with Tehran, they have also cautiously welcomed the rapprochement.

“From our perspective, anything that can help reduce tensions, avoid conflict and curb in any way dangerous or destabilising actions by Iran is a good thing,” Blinken said in March after the deal was announced.

More recently, Saudi Arabia and the US have been cooperating in Sudan, where they have pushed for a ceasefire between the African country’s warring sides.

Friday’s statement announcing Blinken’s visit did not mention Yemen, where Washington says it has advocated for an end to the years-long conflict pitting Saudi Arabia and its partners against the country’s Houthi rebels, who are allied with Iran.

Video Duration 24 minutes 50 seconds 24:50
Assad: The rehabilitation of a war criminal | The Listening Post

Saudi Arabia and the Houthis engaged in direct talks in April, which led to a prisoner swap deal, after the kingdom’s agreement with Iran.

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *