Blinken to meet with leaders of Saudi Arabia, UAE with aim to avert larger Middle East war
2024-01-08 08:39:12 source：CNBC
Janurary 8, 2024
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is due to meet with the leaders of the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia in their respective countries on Monday, ahead of travel to Israel as Washington seeks to contain regional spillover from the Israel-Hamas war.
“This is a moment of profound tension for the region. This is a conflict that could easily metastasize, causing even more insecurity and suffering,” Blinken told reporters in Doha after meeting with Qatar’s leadership on Sunday.
The Middle East trip follows the assassination by drone of deputy Hamas chief Saleh al-Arouri in Beirut, which Hamas has blamed on Israel. Israel has not publicly taken responsibility for the killing, which is one of the latest flashpoints in its war with the Palestinian militant group which has been raging for three months and shows no sign of subsiding.
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