US Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated on Thursday that Saudi Arabia was not being pressured to take a stance siding with either the United States or China. This comes during Blinken’s visit to meet with Gulf representatives in Saudi Arabia, amid relative regional stability following a Chinese-brokered rapprochement, between Iran and the Kingdom.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Saudi Arabia was not being forced to choose between Washington and Beijing, striking a conciliatory tone in Riyadh following tensions with the long-time ally.
Blinken, appearing alongside his Saudi counterpart Prince Faisal bin Farhan at the end of a three-day visit, denied that Saudi Arabia’s warming ties with China were a problem for the United States.
He added that the United States supported the humanitarian goals that Prince Faisal said were behind lifting Syria’s suspension from the Arab League, a move that was condemned by Washington.
China demonstrated its growing clout in the Middle East when it brokered a surprise rapprochement between Saudi Arabia and Iran in March, seven years after the heavyweights severed ties.
Riyadh’s strengthening relations with Beijing follow recent tensions between Saudi Arabia and the US, its decades-old security guarantor, mainly over human rights and oil prices.
Washington is also seen as playing a reduced role in the region, where it has long acted as a protector to its allies including Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest oil exporter.
Blinken said the US did not agree with lifting Syria’s Arab League suspension, but was aligned with the goals of working towards a peace process, stopping the re-emergence of IS, allowing access to humanitarian aid and stopping the captagon trade.
Khalil Wakim, with AFP
