Blinken woos uneasy US allies in Saudi, Egypt to pressure Hamas
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaking to the media before boarding his plane in Cairo, en route to Jordan, on Oct 13.
PHOTO: AFP
Follow topic:
CAIRO – United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Sunday sought pressure against Hamas in talks with the leaders of Egypt and Saudi Arabia, both eager to highlight their influence despite at times uneasy alliances with Washington.
Since Hamas militants’ bloody Oct 7 assault he will return on Monday.
In Riyadh, Mr Blinken was invited for a dawn closed-door meeting
Mr Blinken then flew to Cairo, where he said he had “a very good conversation” with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, whose administration has repeatedly brokered truces between Hamas and Israel.
Egypt was the first Arab country to make peace with Israel, in 1979, and has been one of the top recipients of US assistance since.
Since the violence broke out, Saudi Arabia has put on hold US-brokered talks on normalising with Israel.
“Very productive,” Mr Blinken said, when asked about the meeting with the Saudi prince, known by his initials MBS.
Mr Blinken “highlighted the US’ unwavering focus on halting terrorist attacks by Hamas, securing the release of all hostages and preventing the conflict from spreading”, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said.
Prince Mohammed in turn spoke of Saudi outreach “to calm the situation”, the official Saudi Press Agency said – an effort that has involved a call to President Ebrahim Raisi of Iran, whose Shi’ite clerical leadership openly supports Hamas and is a regional rival to Sunni Saudi Arabia.
The Crown Prince also reiterated the Gulf kingdom’s condemnation of attacks on civilians while stressing the need for Palestinians to “obtain their legitimate rights and achieve just and lasting peace”.
In his meeting with Mr Blinken on Sunday, Mr Sisi said “Israel’s response has gone beyond the right to self-defence and amounts to collective punishment”, as the United Nations warned of worsening humanitarian conditions in Gaza.
Seeking support
Prince Mohammed is a deeply controversial figure in the US, where intelligence linked him to the 2018 killing and dismemberment of Mr Jamal Khashoggi,
Riyadh denies this, blaming rogue operatives.
US President Joe Biden once vowed to make the kingdom a pariah, but visited in 2022, drawing protests at home when he shared a friendly fist bump
The US Secretary of State Antony Blinken meeting Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman in Riyadh, on Oct 15.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Washington’s relationship with Cairo has also been put in question recently.
Days before the Hamas attack, Mr Ben Cardin, the new chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, vowed to block some US$235 million (S$322 million) in military aid to Egypt over human rights concerns.
Cairo has sought to work with Washington since the violence broke out, but is reportedly refusing to allow only foreigners, including US citizens, to get out of Gaza via the Rafah border crossing.
Egypt controls the entry and exit point. Other crossings are controlled by Israel.
Mr Blinken meeting Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in Cairo, on Oct 15.
PHOTO: REUTERS
As he departed Cairo, Mr Blinken said he was confident “Rafah will be open” and that the US, the UN, Egypt, Israel and others were working on a “mechanism by which to get the assistance and to get it to people who need it”.
There was no word on the US’ calls on Egypt to take in refugees, which Mr Sisi has rejected, citing fears that mass displacement would mean the “eradication of the Palestinian cause” and insisting Gazans “remain on their land”.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas warned Mr Blinken on Friday that the displacement of Gazans would amount to a “second Nakba”
Mr Blinken meeting Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Jordan’s capital Amman, on Oct 13.
PHOTO: AFP
Cairo has continued to push for diplomatic efforts, including hosting a regional and international summit on “the future of the Palestinian cause”, though it has not specified a date.
While Egypt openly rejects any proposal to settle Gazans in Sinai – previously occupied by Israel and the site of a multi-year fight against Islamist insurgents – analysts have pointed to Egypt’s dire economic situation as a potential bargaining chip.
Egypt’s currency has lost half its value in a year, under a crippling foreign debt Bill and an economic crisis that analysts warn is only set to worsen.
Mr Blinken has also visited Jordan, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, which also recognise Israel, as well as Qatar, a US ally that has maintained ties with Hamas. Hamas has an office in Doha. AFP
