CAIRO/JEDDAH — US Secretary of State Antony Blinken began a tour of the Middle East on Wednesday (March 20) by holding talks in Saudi Arabia, hoping to secure a ceasefire in the Gaza war as increasing strain shows in Washington's relationship with its ally Israel.
CAIRO/JEDDAH — US Secretary of State Antony Blinken began a tour of the Middle East on Wednesday by holding talks in Saudi Arabia, hoping to secure a ceasefire in the Gaza war as increasing strain shows in Washington's relationship with its ally Israel.US Secretary of State Antony Blinken began a tour of the Middle East on Wednesday by holding talks in Saudi Arabia, hoping to secure a ceasefire in the Gaza war as increasing strain shows in Washington's relationship with its ally Israel.
He will go on to Egypt, where he is expected on Thursday to meet the foreign ministers of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Jordan, the Emirati international cooperation minister and the secretary-general of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation. "This is very, very important for pressuring Hamas, it's very important for pressuring the negotiations as well," he said in video remarks released by Israel's armed forces.
State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said one of Mr Blinken's aims was to discuss with Israeli leaders how to defeat Hamas"including in Rafah, in a way that protects the civilian population, does not hinder the delivery of humanitarian assistance and advances Israel’s overall security". Public tension between the Biden and Netanyahu administrations has grown as Israel pressed on with its offensive, and as disease and hunger spread in Gaza.
"I made it clear to him that it's not the business of the United States to be giving a democratic ally advice about when to have an election or what kind of military campaign they may be conducting," US Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell told reporters afterwards.
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