Blinken arrives in Saudi Arabia on first leg of Middle East tour

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Saudi Arabia on Monday, the first stop in a broader trip to the Middle East.

The top US diplomat heads to Israel later this week, where he is expected to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to take the concrete and tangible steps US President Joe Biden demanded this month to improve the situation in Gaza.

Blinken to meet with Saudi leadership

In Riyadh, Blinken is expected to meet with senior Saudi leaders and hold a wider meeting with counterparts from five Arab states – Qatar, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Jordan, according to a senior State Department official.

Blinken will also discuss with Saudi authorities the efforts for a normalisation deal between the kingdom and Israel, a mega deal that includes Washington giving Riyadh agreements on bilateral defence and security commitments as well as nuclear cooperation.

In return for normalisation, Arab states and Washington have been pushing for Israel to agree to a pathway for Palestinian statehood.

وصول وزير الخارجية الأمريكي أنتوني #بلينكن إلى العاصمة #الرياض.https://t.co/CGh395MxRF pic.twitter.com/4WiO0atboC

— U.S. Embassy Riyadh (@USAinKSA) April 29, 2024

From Riyadh, Blinken will head to Jordan and Israel and the focus of the trip will shift to the efforts to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza.

In Amman, Blinken will meet with senior Jordanian officials and humanitarian groups to hear about the improvements and what more needs to be done and then take that feedback to the Israelis later this week.

“(Blinken) will discuss the recent increase in humanitarian assistance being delivered to Gaza and underscore the importance of ensuring that increase is sustained,” the US State Department said in a statement on Sunday announcing the expansion of the trip.

The road ahead

Blinken is also expected to bring together Arab countries with the European states and discuss how Europe can help the rebuilding effort of the tiny enclave.

Conversations over Gaza’s rebuilding and governance have been going on for months with a clear mechanism yet to emerge.

Blinken’s trip to the Middle East comes about a month after Biden said Washington’s policy could shift if Israel fails to take steps to address civilian harm, humanitarian suffering, and the safety of aid workers.

In a phone call on Sunday with Netanyahu, Biden mentioned the Israeli preparations to open new border crossings this week into northern Gaza, according to a White House statement.

Read: Blinken meets Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman amid ceasefire negotiations