WASHINGTON, April 28, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - US Secretary of State Antony Blinken
will hold talks in Saudi Arabia on Monday and Tuesday on efforts to reach a
Gaza ceasefire and prevent a larger regional conflict, the State Department
said.

Blinken, who will depart Sunday, will meet with ministers from the bloc of
Gulf Arab states on his first trip to the region since the long shadow war
between their regional rival Iran and US ally Israel escalated into direct
conflict.

Blinken will "discuss ongoing efforts to achieve a ceasefire in Gaza that
secures the release of hostages and how it is Hamas that is standing between
the Palestinian people and a ceasefire," State Department spokesman Matthew
Miller said.

Blinken will "emphasize the importance of preventing the conflict from
spreading and discuss ongoing efforts to achieve lasting peace and security
in the region," he said.

Before Hamas on October 7 carried out the deadliest attack ever on Israel,
Saudi Arabia had been discussing normalization with Israel -- a landmark step
by the guardian of Islam's two holiest sites.

It will be Blinken's fifth visit to Saudi Arabia since October 7 as the
United States hopes to dangle the prospect of normalization to encourage
moderation by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a longtime opponent
of a Palestinian state.

Blinken will discuss "a pathway to an independent Palestinian state with
security guarantees for Israel," Miller said.

Gulf Cooperation Council countries meeting in Riyadh include Qatar, which has
been spearheading months of talks aiming to halt the deadly Israeli offensive
in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip in return for the release of hostages.

In Saudi Arabia, one of the world's top oil exporters, Blinken will also
attend a special session on energy of the World Economic Forum, the gathering
of the world's business elite that meets in January in Davos, Switzerland.

Miller said Blinken will promote efforts to fight climate change, a key
priority for President Joe Biden and sharp contrast with his election rival
Donald Trump.