CAIRO – US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will return to Israel this week after completing a frantic six-nation race through Arab nations aiming to prevent the war between Israel and Hamas from triggering a regional conflict. wider.
The U.S. State Department announced Blinken’s plan to travel to Israel on Monday, his second visit in five days, as the top U.S. diplomat arrived in Cairo for talks with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Sunday. .
It was the last of Blinken’s meetings with Arab leaders amid growing fears that an imminent Israeli ground offensive in Gaza could trigger a broader war with devastating humanitarian consequences.
Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters traveling with Blinken that the secretary was returning to Tel Aviv “for further consultations with Israeli officials.” Miller did not elaborate.
Before landing in Egypt, Blinken met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh on Sunday morning. That meeting followed talks the previous three days with the leaders of the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar, Jordan and the Palestinian Authority.
Blinken will return to Israel this week after completing a tour of six Arab countries.via REUTERS
Blinken began the whirlwind trip Thursday to Israel, pledging support and solidarity for the country in its response to Hamas’ surprise attacks last week. Blinken also spoke by phone with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi to seek Beijing’s support in deterring others from getting involved.
However, as Israel’s military action plans to eradicate Hamas have taken shape with heavy airstrikes and warnings for more than a million Palestinians to evacuate the northern Gaza Strip, concerns have intensified over a broader conflict. In his conversations with Arab leaders, Blinken has stressed the importance of not allowing that to happen.
Underscoring American fears, the US military has positioned one aircraft carrier battle group in the eastern Mediterranean and on Saturday announced the deployment of a second.
Blinken met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh on Sunday morning.AP US Secretary of State Antony Blinken waves as he boards a plane leaving Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on October 15, 2023 .AP/AFP via Getty Images
The naval presence is intended to serve as a deterrent to other countries and groups, such as Iran, Syria and Lebanon’s Hezbollah, from entering the conflict.
Also on Saturday, as the Israeli military said its attack on Hamas targets in Gaza would begin very soon, President Joe Biden spoke by phone with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
US officials have said that the Arab reaction to Blinken’s message has been generally positive: they recognize that Israel has the right to respond to Hamas attacks, but they express deep concern about the humanitarian situation in Gaza and cannot remain silent about the resulting Palestinian civilian casualties. Arab leaders have also said that the current situation cannot be resolved without a peace agreement between Israelis and Palestinians that gives the Palestinians an independent state.
In his roughly hour-long meeting with Prince Mohammed at the de facto Saudi leader’s private farm outside Riyadh, Blinken “highlighted the United States’ unwavering focus on stopping Hamas terrorist attacks, securing the release of all hostages and prevent the conflict from spreading. ”said the State Department.
“The two affirmed their shared commitment to protecting civilians and promoting stability throughout the Middle East and beyond,” according to a statement from the department.
The Saudi description of the meeting focused primarily on Palestinian civilians, echoing the sentiments of other Arab leaders Blinken has met with. He said Saudi Arabia would oppose “civilians being attacked in any way or disrupting vital infrastructure and interests that affect their daily lives.”
The prince “emphasized the need to work to discuss ways to stop military operations that claimed the lives of innocent people,” the Saudi Press Agency said in a report on the meeting.
Prince Mohammed also made clear the Saudi emphasis on the need to “stop the current escalation, respect international humanitarian law, including lifting the siege of Gaza, and work to create conditions for the return of stability,” he said.
An Israeli soldier walks in front of a moving tank with an Israeli flag on top in a staging area near the Israeli border with Lebanon, Sunday, Oct. 15, 2023. AP
Before the Hamas attacks in Israel last Saturday, Blinken had planned to visit Israel and Saudi Arabia next week to discuss ongoing negotiations for a deal to normalize relations between the two countries.
After the attacks, Blinken changed his plans so he could quickly reach Israel to show solidarity. The normalization talks are now on hold, an outcome that the United States and other officials believe was a primary goal of Hamas and its main sponsor, Iran.
Neither the US nor Saudi statements mentioned the issue.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn