U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Jeddah, a state department spokesperson told CNN, the between the U.S. government and the de facto leader of a key U.S. ally.
The two men 鈥渁ffirmed their shared commitment to advance stability, security, and prosperity across the Middle East and beyond鈥 during the meeting, state department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a statement Tuesday.
Miller said that commitment includes 鈥渁 comprehensive political agreement to achieve peace, prosperity, and security in Yemen,鈥 adding that Blinken 鈥渆mphasized that our bilateral relationship is strengthened by progress on human rights.鈥
Relations between the two countries have been strained in recent years following the torture and murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, for which a US held the Crown Prince responsible. But in the wake of fluctuating oil prices over the past year 鈥 Saudi Arabia this week said it will starting in July as part of an effort by producers to shore up crude prices 鈥 the Biden administration has with the kingdom.
During the meeting, Blinken and bin Salman 鈥渄iscussed deepening economic cooperation, especially in the clean energy and technology fields,鈥 Miller said in the statement.
Blinken also thanked the Crown Prince 鈥渇or Saudi Arabia鈥檚 support evacuating hundreds of U.S. citizens from Sudan, and for the Kingdom鈥檚 ongoing partnership in diplomatic negotiations to stop the fighting there,鈥 the statement said.
A State Department鈥檚 travel summary said Blinken would 鈥渕eet with Saudi officials to discuss US-Saudi strategic cooperation on regional and global issues and a range of bilateral issues including economic and security cooperation,鈥 and participate in meetings of the US-Gulf Cooperation Council and the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS.
Blinken arrived in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday afternoon, and will travel to Riyadh on Wednesday for further meetings.
Speaking to the pro-Israel lobbying group AIPAC on Monday, Blinken also said that normalization between Israel and Saudi Arabia would be a topic of conversation during his trip.
The production cut announced by Saudi Arabia over the weekend was its biggest in years and will depress its output to 9 million barrels per day. It came after a meeting in Vienna of the alliance known as OPEC+, which includes members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Russia and other smaller producers.
Asked to comment on the decision to slash production ahead of Blinken鈥檚 visit, deputy State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel noted that gasoline prices have generally fallen in the US from heights reached a year ago.
鈥淲e believe that supply should meet demand, and we鈥檒l continue to work with all producers and consumers to ensure that energy markets support economic growth and lower prices for American families,鈥 Patel said at a briefing. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 what we鈥檙e focusing on.鈥
On the campaign trail, then-candidate Joe Biden promised to make Saudi Arabia 鈥渢he pariah that they are鈥 on the world stage and 鈥渕ake them pay the price鈥 for Khashoggi鈥檚 murder. But he reneged on that vow by and giving the crown prince a fist bump, providing a photo opportunity for the Saudi government and outraging human rights groups.
At the time, the president defended his actions by saying his Saudi trip was critical to US security.
鈥淎s president, it is my job to keep our country strong and secure. We have to counter Russia鈥檚 aggression, put ourselves in the best possible position to outcompete China, and work for greater stability in a consequential region of the world,鈥 Biden wrote in an op-ed for .
鈥淭o do these things, we have to engage directly with countries that can impact those outcomes,鈥 he wrote.
Months after Biden鈥檚 visit, the US determined that bin Salman in a case brought against him by Khashoggi鈥檚 fianc茅e.
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