- US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has traveled to the Middle East again.
- The main goal of this trip should not be a new hostage exchange agreement or a ceasefire.
- Instead, the primary aim is to prevent the Gaza war from escalating further.
The first stop on US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s trip was Turkey. He met for talks with his counterpart Hakan Fidan and with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
In the talks, Blinken emphasized “the need to prevent the conflict from escalating, secure the release of hostages, expand humanitarian assistance and reduce the number of civilian casualties,” said US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller.
According to the Turkish Foreign Ministry, in addition to the Gaza war, these talks also discussed Sweden’s accession to NATO, which Turkey has not yet confirmed.
Many more stations planned
Blinken will fly on to Greece on Saturday – and then to a whole series of countries, including Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Israel. The US Secretary of State is also expected in the West Bank.
During his stops, he wanted to discuss concrete steps on how actors in the region could use their influence to avoid an escalation of the Gaza war, as his spokesman announced on Friday.