Top US diplomat visits Saudi Arabia to rebuild strained ties

Antony Blinken, United States (U.S.) Secretary of State, visited the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on Tuesday to strengthen strained ties between the two countries.

Blinken's three-day visit to the Kingdom will also include discussions about attempts to end crises in Sudan and Yemen, the combined fight against the Islamic State group (IS), and Arab-Israeli relations.

Blinken met with Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, according to the State Department, and they addressed their "shared commitment to advance stability, security, and prosperity across the Middle East and beyond."

The statement read, “The secretary also emphasized that our bilateral relationship is strengthened by progress on human rights.” According to the Times of Israel, the two leaders also discussed the prospect of Saudi Arabia normalizing relations with Israel.

Top US diplomat is also set to attend a Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) meeting in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia. He will meet with various GCC leaders.

The visit is Blinken's first since Saudi Arabia re established diplomatic relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran, which the West regards as a pariah due to Iran’s disputed nuclear programmes and role in regional crises.

The United States provided cautious backing for the pact struck in China, a rising power making advances in the Middle East.

Iran, a long-standing adversary of the United States and Israel, reopened its embassy in the Kingdom on Tuesday after a long seven-year break. The two nations agreed to normalize their ties.

US official reaffirmed on Monday that "the United States has a real national security interest in promoting normalisation between Israel and Saudi Arabia." He further noted that “we remain committed to working toward that outcome.”