SAWT BEIRUT INTERNATIONAL

| 27 April 2024, Saturday |

Blinken to meet Israeli, UAE counterparts next week

The US State Department said on Saturday that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will meet with his Israeli and UAE counterparts next week to discuss progress on the so-called Abraham Accords as well as regional security.

Blinken will meet with Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid and UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed separately and in a trilateral setting on Wednesday, according to a statement from the State Department.

“They will review progress made since the Abraham Accords were signed last year, future collaboration prospects, and bilateral concerns including as regional security and stability,” according to the State Department.

Blinken last month pledged to encourage more Arab countries to normalize relations with Israel as he hosted a virtual meeting with Israeli and Arab counterparts to mark the first anniversary of the set of landmark diplomatic agreements.

Israel and Sudan announced in the following month that they would normalize relations, and Morocco established diplomatic ties with Israel in December, after President Joe Biden defeated Trump in the U.S. election.

Biden has backed the deals since taking office in January, and senior aides have said they were working to get additional Arab countries to normalize relations with Israel after decades of enmity.

    Source:
  • Reuters