Secretary of State Antony Blinken conducts talks in Turkey today, Saturday, marking the first stop in a new tour encompassing several countries, with particular focus on discussing the war on the Gaza Strip and its implications in the region.
Blinken arrived in Istanbul on Friday evening, and his tour is set to include Israel, the occupied West Bank, and five Arab countries of Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, in addition to Greece.
The tour comes amid fears of widespread confrontations between the Lebanese Hezbollah and Israel following the assassination of Saleh Al-Arouri, Deputy Chief of the Political Bureau of Hamas, in an Israeli raid on the southern suburbs of Beirut last Tuesday.
A US State Department official told CNN that indirect engagement with Iran to prevent a broader conflict in the region is a major focus of the Secretary of State's tour.
In previous statements, the US Secretary of State said he would return to the region to participate in efforts concerning the situation in Gaza, adding he will continue to urge the protection of civilians and work intensely with partners to secure the release of Israeli detainees and ensure the continuous delivery of humanitarian aid to the Strip.
The US State Department also stated that among the objectives of the visit is to ensure that Palestinians are not forcibly evacuated from their land, as well as to dissipate regional tensions, including deterring Houthi attacks on commercial vessels in the Red Sea and preventing escalation in Lebanon.
In addition to the war on Gaza, Blinken will discuss Turkey's file on Sweden's accession to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) during his meetings in Istanbul with his Turkish counterpart, Hakan Fidan.
Following his talks in Istanbul, Blinken is scheduled for a brief visit to Greece.
