US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said Middle Eastern countries must use their influence with parties in the region to ensure the containment of the conflict in Gaza and stop the “endless cycle of violence”.
This came after Blinken met with the Turkish president and Greek prime minister at the start of a week-long tour aimed at calming rising tension in the Middle East since war broke out in Gaza in October.
Blinken told reporters that it is in the interests of nearly every country in the Middle East to contain the fighting.
“We want to make sure that countries that deem it (in their interest) also use their connections, influence and relationships with some of the actors that may be involved (in the conflict) to push for control of things,” he added before “We will not see the conflict will spread.”
Blinken said it is very important that northern Israel is safe.
He added: “From Israel’s point of view… it doesn’t want an escalation… but it also needs to be fully prepared to defend itself.”
Blinken, who will also visit Arab countries, Israel and the occupied West Bank, said that if efforts to resolve this crisis fail, the result will be “an endless cycle of violence… and a life of insecurity and conflict for the people of the region.”
He added that he would discuss what could be done to achieve the greatest possible protection for civilians in Gaza and provide more humanitarian aid.
“A large number of Palestinians were killed, mostly children,” he said.
Blinken began his tour from Istanbul by meeting with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is a strong critic of Israeli military operations in Gaza.
Turkey’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement that Blinken discussed the war in Gaza and Turkey’s ratification of Sweden’s request to join NATO with his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan before his meeting with Erdogan.
A senior US State Department official accompanied by Blinken, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Turkey has relations with many parties to the conflict, referring to its ties with Iran and the Hamas movement. Unlike the United States, Turkey does not classify Hamas as a terrorist group and hosts some of its members.
Blinken is also eager to progress talks on how to govern Gaza if Israel achieves its goal of eliminating Hamas.
The official said Washington wants regional countries such as Turkey to play a role in Gaza’s reconstruction, its governance and perhaps security in the Strip, which has been run by Hamas since 2007.
2024-01-07 01:09:34
#Blinken #Middle #Eastern #countries #influence #stop #war #Gaza