U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud by phone on Tuesday to talk about regional diplomatic issues, including Yemen, according to a statement by the State Department.
“Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken spoke with Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud. Secretary Blinken and the Foreign Minister discussed Saudi Arabia’s continued role in talks with the Houthis and ongoing Yemen peace efforts. The Secretary underscored U.S. support for efforts that will pave the way for a UN-mediated, Yemeni-Yemeni peace process aimed at reaching a comprehensive settlement of the conflict. They emphasized common regional and global priorities, including shared efforts to bring an immediate end to the fighting in Sudan.”
Last week, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan spoke with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and discussed a “number of global and regional matters,” including Yemen.
“Mr. Sullivan highlighted the remarkable progress in Yemen over the past year, during which fighting has nearly ceased under a UN-mediated truce. He welcomed Saudi Arabia’s extraordinary efforts to pursue a more comprehensive roadmap for ending the war and offered full U.S. support for those efforts, noting that Special Envoy Tim Lenderking will be in the region over the coming days. Mr. Sullivan and Crown Prince Salman also discussed broader trends toward de-escalation in the region, while underscoring the need to maintain deterrence against threats from Iran and elsewhere. Mr. Sullivan reaffirmed President Biden’s unwavering commitment to ensure Iran can never acquire a nuclear weapon. Mr. Sullivan and Crown Prince Salman committed to stay in regular contact and to accelerate contact between the Saudi and U.S. national security teams on issues including the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment (PGII), clean energy cooperation, and development and investment in cutting-edge Open Radio Access Network (O-Ran) 5G and 6G technologies.”
Saudi Arabia has conducted a foreign policy pivot in recent weeks, re-establishing relations with rival Iran and resetting ties with Syria and others.
