Antony Blinken’s whirlwind tour
Crete will be US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s second of nine stops in his whirlwind trip, mainly to the Middle East, from Jan. 4-11.
Blinken will hold talks with Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in the latter’s family hometown of Hania Saturday, having visited Istanbul Friday.
His subsequent stops are: Amman, Jordan; Doha, Qatar; Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates; Al ‘Ula, Saudi Arabia; Tel Aviv, Israel; the West Bank; and Cairo, Egypt. The schedule may be revised at the last moment for security reasons.
According to the State Department’s official website “(t)hroughout his trip, the Secretary will underscore the importance of protecting civilian lives in Israel and the West Bank and Gaza; securing the release of all remaining hostages; our shared commitment to facilitating the increased, sustained delivery of life-saving humanitarian assistance to civilians in Gaza and the resumption of essential services; and ensuring that Palestinians are not forcibly displaced from Gaza. He will also discuss urgent mechanisms to stem violence, calm rhetoric, and reduce regional tensions, including deterring Houthi attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea and avoiding escalation in Lebanon. The Secretary will reaffirm the U.S. commitment to working with partners to set the conditions necessary for peace in the Middle East, which includes comprehensive, tangible steps toward the realization of a future Palestinian state alongside the State of Israel, with both living in peace and security.”
