On Blinken's menu will be continuing efforts to end the fighting in Yemen, where Iran-backed rebel Huthis have battled Saudi-backed government forces for years. Last year Biden called for a review of the relationship after the Saudis cut oil production to force up prices.īut as the Saudis continue to play a powerful role in Middle East politics and Washington continues to arm its military, US officials don't hide their hopes for a closer relationship. The 2018 murder of US-based Saudi dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi agents with ties to the monarchy continues to dog bilateral ties. Ties between Washington and Riyadh are complex and have frayed over US accusations of human rights abuses in the kingdom and unhappiness that the Saudis raised oil prices in collusion with Russia to profiteer from Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, rejecting US pleas to cap prices.
He will participate in a ministerial meeting on Wednesday with the Gulf Cooperation Council, and on Thursday in a meeting in Riyadh of the coalition of countries fighting the Islamic State group.īlinken's trip follows a recent visit to Saudi Arabia by White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and nearly a year after President Joe Biden visited the country, with only mixed success in improving relations. On the trip, Blinken will "discuss US-Saudi strategic cooperation on regional and global issues and a range of bilateral issues including economic and security cooperation," the State Department said.
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