The China Mail - Blinken arrives in Saudi for tent meeting with crown prince

Blinken will discuss Red Sea attacks by the Iran-backed Huthi rebels in Yemen, Saudi Arabia's southern neighbour, during his talks with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Their meeting in a lavish tent in Al Ula, a historic oasis in western Saudi, will also touch on a potential normalisation of ties with Israel after initial discussions were put on hold by the Israel-Hamas war, a senior official said.

Blinken, who landed in Al Ula on Monday, "emphasised the importance of preventing further spread of the conflict", during talks in Abu Dhabi earlier with United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, a US summary of the meeting said.

"This is a conflict that could easily metastasise, causing even more insecurity and even more suffering," Blinken said on Sunday in Qatar, the previous leg of his whistlestop tour.

The war in Gaza started with Hamas's unprecedented October 7 attack on Israel, which resulted in about 1,140 deaths, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.

Israel has responded with relentless bombardment and a ground invasion that have killed at least 22,835 people, most of them women and children, according to the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza.

Vowing solidarity with the Palestinians, Yemen's Huthis have launched more than 100 drone and missile attacks on targets in Israel and the Red Sea, disrupting traffic in the key shipping route.

The United States and 11 allies last week warned of unspecified consequences if the attacks continue.

But the situation is tense for Riyadh as it coincides with attempts to settle a long-running war between the Huthis and a Saudi-led international coalition.

Blinken's meeting with Prince Mohammed is also a chance to sound out the Saudis on the prospect of an eventual normalisation with Israel, a senior US official said -- even if progress appears unlikely while the three-month war continues.

Saudi Arabia, home of Islam's two holiest sites, did not join the handful of Arab countries -- including its neighbour the United Arab Emirates -- in signing the US-brokered Abraham Accords recognising Israel in 2020.

K.Leung--ThChM