US Secretary of State Antony Blinken discussed human rights with Saudi Arabia’s crown prince on Tuesday during a mission designed to strengthen ties with the long-time ally, which has forged closer ties with Washington’s adversaries.
The focus of Blinken’s three-day visit to the oil-rich monarchy will also be on efforts to end conflicts in Sudan and Yemen, the joint fight against the Islamic State (IS), and Arab-Israeli relations.
His trip coincides with a March reunion between Saudi Arabia and Iran, facilitated by China.
Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad was invited back to the Arab League last month for the first time since the start of the 12-year civil conflict in which Russia and Iran have supported his government.
On Tuesday night, Vice President Biden met with Saudi Arabia’s de facto leader, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. According to a US official speaking on condition of anonymity, the two men had “an open, candid discussion that covered the full range of regional and bilateral issues.
The secretary brought up human rights in both a general and specific sense.
The meeting, which lasted approximately 1 hour and 40 minutes, included discussions on Saudi Arabia’s support for US evacuations from Sudan, the need for political dialogue in Yemen, and the possibility of normalizing relations with Israel.
Blinken arrived in Jeddah on Tuesday evening for a Gulf Cooperation Council summit in Riyadh on Wednesday.
Energy costs
The visit is Blinken’s first since the monarchy restored diplomatic relations with Iran, which the West considers a pariah due to its contested nuclear activities and participation in regional conflicts.
The United States cautiously supported the China-brokered accord.
After decades of energy and defence cooperation, the 2018 murder of dissident writer Jamal Khashoggi damaged US-Saudi relations.
Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil exporter, declined to help down energy prices when Russia invaded Ukraine last February.
Blinken was urged by rights activists, including Abdullah Al-Qahtani, a US citizen whose father, Mohammad Al-Qahtani, was imprisoned for 10 years after establishing a civil rights group in Saudi Arabia and is still missing.
“He must bring up the situation with my father. Is he living? Is he undergoing torment? Abdullah Al-Qahtani told a virtual news conference, “We do not know.”
Prince Mohammed, 37, has pursued an independent foreign policy, and on Monday he hosted Nicolas Maduro, the president of Venezuela.
Iran’s embassy in Saudi Arabia reopened on Tuesday after a seven-year hiatus.
Nonetheless, US-Saudi strategic relations continue to be strong, particularly in the area of defense: Washington has long provided the Sunni Arab behemoth with security protection against Shiite Iran, and Riyadh purchases cutting-edge US weapons.
Israel connections
US and Saudi officials failed to mediate a lasting ceasefire in Sudan’s eight-week civil conflict. Saudi assistance was crucial in the evacuation of thousands of foreigners from the conflict zone.
The two allies are also engaged in the ongoing fight against IS, a jihadist organization that has lost all of its territory in the Middle East but is becoming increasingly active in certain regions of Africa.
They also discuss ending the Yemen war, where a Saudi-led coalition has supported the government against Iran-backed Huthi rebels.
The Trump administration’s Abraham Accords helped Israel build contacts with numerous Arab nations. And the US expects Saudi Arabia would eventually normalise relations with Israel.
On the eve of his departure to Saudi Arabia, Blinken reaffirmed that “the United States has a significant national security interest in promoting normalization between Israel and Saudi Arabia.”
He stated that Washington has “no illusions” that this can be accomplished swiftly or without difficulty. But emphasized that “we remain committed to working towards this result.”
Saudi Arabia has maintained thus far that Israel must first recognize a Palestinian state’s independence.
