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Blinken begins new diplomatic mission in the Middle East

2024-01-06 15:45:00, Kosova & Bota CNA
Blinken begins new diplomatic mission in the Middle East
Antony Blinken

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken began his latest emergency diplomatic mission to the Middle East on Saturday in Turkey, as fears grow that Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza could turn into a wider conflict.

Mr Blinken's fourth visit in three months comes amid troubling developments outside Gaza, including Lebanon, northern Israel, the Red Sea and Iraq.
Secretary Blinken met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan to discuss the leverage that Turkey and other countries can exert, particularly on Iran and its allied groups, to ease rising tensions, expedite deliveries of humanitarian aid to Gaza and to begin planning for the reconstruction and governance of post-war Gaza. Much of the territory has been reduced to rubble by three months of intense Israeli bombardment.

President Erdogan is a fierce critic of Israel's military actions in Gaza. Unlike the US, Turkey does not consider Hamas a terrorist group.

Just hours before Mr Blinken arrived in Turkey, Hezbollah, a militia in Lebanon backed by Iran, fired dozens of rockets into northern Israel, warning it was just the beginning of a response to the killing of a senior Hamas leader. apparently from Israel.

Meanwhile, intensified attacks on merchant shipping in the Red Sea by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels are disrupting international trade and have resulted in increased efforts by the US and its allies to patrol the area and responded to threats.

After Turkey, Mr. Blinken will go to the island of Crete to meet Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. NATO member Greece is awaiting US Congressional approval of a sale of F-35 fighter jets.

In the following days, the American secretary of state will visit Arab countries, Israel and the West Bank, where he will convey the message that Washington does not want a regional escalation of the Gaza conflict./ VOA





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