Iran, Ukraine top agenda as Blinken tours Middle East
Blinken's trip will include extensive discussions with Abu Dhabi's crown prince and stops in North Africa.
US top diplomat Antony Blinken will meet with the leaders of the UAE, Israel, Algeria and the Palestinian Authority during a broad tour of the Middle East next week as Washington seeks to coordinate with allies over a potential nuclear deal with Iran and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Blinken will also meet with the foreign ministers of Bahrain, the UAE and Morocco at a first-of-its-kind summit hosted by Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid starting on Sunday, the Foreign Ministry announced today.
Following that event, the US secretary of state plans to meet Emirati leader Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan during a stop in Morocco. The two are set to discuss a range of issues including global energy markets, Iran and the conflicts in Yemen and Ethiopia as well as furthering the Abraham Accords, the State Department’s top official for Middle East policy said.
The meeting in Rabat comes after a state visit to Abu Dhabi by Syria’s President Bashar Al-Assad — an international pariah due to his government’s conduct in the country's civil war — drew concern in Washington.
