US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has arrived in Turkey for talks before his new trip to several Middle Eastern countries against the backdrop of the Gaza war. The country plays a crucial role in addressing regional security issues, including preventing the conflict from spreading in Gaza, US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said on the X platform (formerly Twitter) after Blinken's arrival in Istanbul on Friday evening.
Meetings with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan are planned in Istanbul on Saturday, where, in addition to the Middle East conflict, Sweden's intended accession to NATO, which Turkey has still not ratified, is likely to be discussed. Blinken was then supposed to go on to Greece.
The rest of the trip will be dedicated to diplomatic efforts in the Middle East conflict. Blinken wants to stop in Jordan, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia as well as Israel, the West Bank and Egypt.
During his stops, Blinken wanted to discuss concrete steps on how actors in the region could use their influence to avoid an escalation of the Gaza war, his spokesman said. The USA also wants to ensure that more humanitarian aid comes to the Gaza Strip, to free the remaining hostages from the hands of the Islamist Hamas and to improve the protection of civilians in the conflict.
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