US Secretary of State Antony Blinken today revealed he held an “extremely productive” meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh, a critical diplomatic engagement as Israel had been working on the project of doing all the preparations to launch a ground assault in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip and Washington worked to contain the conflict. “Really productive,” Mr Blinken responded to a query from a Reuters reporter as he came back to the hotel where the US delegation was residing.
A US official revealed the meeting lasted for just under an hour and took place at the Crown Prince’s private farm residence. “The Secretary highlighted the United States’ unwavering focus on stopping terrorist attacks by Hamas, saving the release of all hostages, and hindering the conflict from sprawling,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller revealed in a statement. “The two affirmed their collaborative agreement to saving civilians and to polishing stability all over the Middle East and beyond,” Mr Miller said.
The top US diplomat’s meeting on Sunday with the kingdom’s de facto ruler comes as the area is on the verge of a further escalation with Gaza, a petite coastal enclave that is abode to 2.3 million Palestinians bracing themselves for Israel’s ground offensive. Mr Blinken will be heading to Israel one more time on Monday for further consultations with its governers after going to the nation five days ago, Mr Miller revealed on Sunday. Around 1,300 people were murdered in the sudden onslaught by Hamas militants in Israeli towns eight days before. Israel replied by subjecting Gaza to the extremely passionate bombardment it has ever seen, leading to the petite enclave under total siege and destructing majority of its infrastructure.