Blinken discusses Yeme, Israel with Saudi crown prince
Visit our website:
http://www.france24.com
Like us on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/FRANCE24.English
Follow us on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/France24_en
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00 Landing in Jeddah on Tuesday, America's top diplomat Antony Blinken began his three-day
00:05 visit to the kingdom in an attempt to mend a strained but strategic relationship between
00:10 Saudi Arabia and the US.
00:13 The two nations have not seen eye to eye in years on a plethora of issues, among them
00:17 oil prices, Iran policy and human rights.
00:21 On Wednesday, Blinken met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
00:25 The two men discussed their shared priorities, including countering terrorism through the
00:29 ISIS coalition, achieving peace in Yemen and deepening economic and scientific cooperation,
00:35 Blinken said on Twitter.
00:37 According to a US official, another topic raised during the meeting was the potential
00:41 normalisation of Saudi-Israeli ties.
00:44 This week, Secretary Blinken brought up the possibility of a rapprochement between Israel
00:49 and Saudi Arabia, saying it was in the US national security interest to see the pair
00:53 normalise ties, despite admitting it would no doubt take some time.
00:58 The US official also said the two men discussed the conflict in Sudan.
01:02 Both Washington and Riyadh have previously worked in conjunction to broker a lasting
01:06 ceasefire between the warring factions in the African country.
01:10 Blinken's visit comes days after Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil exporter, pledged
01:15 to further cut its oil production by one million barrels per day to boost flagging crude prices,
01:20 in a move that could surge costs for American consumers at the pump as well as worsening
01:24 global inflation.
01:26 The visit is also his first since Riyadh restored diplomatic relations with Tehran, in a recent
01:31 deal brokered by Beijing, at a time when tensions have spiked between Tehran and Washington.
01:37 Also on Blinken's agenda during the visit is a Gulf Cooperation Council meeting in Riyadh,
01:42 expected to be attended by Qatar's Prime Minister and other top Gulf officials.