United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken held a meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh on Sunday as part of his crisis tour of the Middle East. This meeting took place at Prince Mohammed’s royal farm residence outside the capital and was closed to the media, according to US officials.
Antony Blinken described the meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman as “very productive” when asked about it after returning to his hotel. Reports from news agencies indicated that the meeting lasted for just under an hour.
The Biden administration is actively working to prevent the Israel-Hamas conflict from escalating into a wider regional crisis. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller stated that Secretary of State Antony Blinken emphasized the United States’ firm commitment to stopping terrorist attacks by Hamas, securing the release of all hostages, and preventing the conflict from spreading. This underscores the U.S. government’s dedication to mitigating the situation and its potential ramifications.
“I heard a lot of good ideas about some of the things we need to do moving forward,” Blinken told reporters on Sunday following his meetings with the two leaders. But differences of views emerged immediately on Israel’s right to wage a massive offensive in Gaza, which both Sisi and Mohammed raised concerns about.