US Secretary of State Blinken arrives in Turkey to kick off week-long trip to Middle East

Middle East, News, US January 7, 2024 , by IRIA No Comments

The United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Turkey on January 6, 2024, to kick off another week-long trip to the Middle East. In his fourth visit to the region since the October 7 attack, Blinken aims to meet with regional leadership amid growing tension in the region.

Blinken started his trip from Istanbul where he met Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and Turkish President Recap Tayyip Erdogan, who has been one of the most vocal critics of Israel’s military operation in Gaza.

In their meeting, the two top diplomats discussed strategies for Turkey and other stakeholders to exert influence, specifically on Iran and its proxies, to alleviate escalating tensions, expedite the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza, and initiate comprehensive planning for the reconstruction and governance of postwar Gaza, which has witnessed extensive destruction due to three months of intense Israeli bombardments.

In the talks, Blinken “emphasized the need to prevent the conflict from spreading, secure the release of hostages, expand humanitarian assistance, and reduce civilian casualties,” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said.

Blinken also stressed the need to work toward broader, lasting regional peace that ensures Israel’s security and advances the establishment of a Palestinian state, Miller added.

Fidan and Blinken also discussed Turkey’s process to ratify Sweden’s membership of the NATO military alliance, Turkey’s foreign ministry said in a statement.

The U.S. has shown its frustration with Turkey’s lengthy process to ratify Sweden’s accession into the alliance, however, Ankara has been going through the process step-by-step. Last month, a panel from the Turkish parliament’s key commission on foreign affairs approved Sweden’s bid to join NATO.

Turkish President @RTErdogan and I discussed the conflict in Gaza, shared security priorities as NATO Allies, and desire to expand our bilateral trade and investment. pic.twitter.com/0CgLT5IBa8
— Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) January 6, 2024

After concluding his meeting with the Turkish foreign minister, Blinken met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for about an hour. Erdogan and Blinken held their talks behind closed doors at Vahdettin Palace on the Asian side of Istanbul, the presidency said in a statement.

Trip to Greece

Before heading deeper into the Middle East, Blinken plans to visit the Greek island of Crete, to meet Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. Blinken is expected to discuss the F-35 deal with Greek leadership, which is awaiting approval from the U.S. Congress.

“We’ll be discussing this issue. I think there will be positive developments,” Greek Foreign Minister George Gerapetritis said ahead of Blinken’s visit.

Meetings with Arab leaders

To conduct meetings with the Arab leaders and discuss Israel’s operations in Gaza, the U.S. Secretary of State would travel to Jordan, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Israel, the West Bank, and Egypt.

According to the U.S. State Department, Secretary Blinken would highlight the critical need to safeguard the lives of civilians in Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza. Additionally, the discussion will cover preventing the forced displacement of Palestinians from Gaza and ensure urgent measures to curb violence, calm rhetoric, and reduce regional tensions.

^{A man gestures as Palestinians search for casualties a day after Israeli strikes on houses in Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip on November 1, 2023. (Image Credit: Reuters/Mohammed Al-Masri)}

Israeli offensives in Gaza have at least killed 22,700 Palestinians, and the conflict has spilled into the West Bank, Lebanon, and Red Sea shipping lanes. Blinken is also expected to discuss the Houthi attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea and discuss joint strategies to avoid escalation in Lebanon during his meetings with Arab leaders.