Antony Blinken’s Diplomatic Tour in the Middle East
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Egypt on Sunday, the first leg of a three-day tour of the Middle East that takes place at a time of escalating violence between Israelis and Palestinians and which also has the situation in Iran and Ukraine. The head of US diplomacy is meeting with Egyptian youth leaders on Sunday at the American University in Cairo. He told reporters that he wants to strengthen Washington’s “strategic partnership” with Egypt. On Monday, Blinken will meet with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry to discuss regional issues such as Sudan’s democratic transition and Libyan elections, according to the State Department.
However, he will also be pressured to address concerns related to human rights, given that the administration of President Joe Biden has suspended part of the military aid to Egypt due to its failure to fulfill the conditions regarding these rights. Human rights activists accuse the Egyptian authorities of abuses such as torture and enforced disappearances. Most of the $1.3 billion in military aid sent annually by Washington to Egypt has remained intact, however, and the US says the administration in Cairo has made progress in reducing political detentions. Later on Monday, Antony Blinken is expected in Jerusalem, where he will reiterate US calls for calm and US support for a two-state solution, although US officials have admitted that a resumption of peace talks is unlikely in the near future. On Thursday, an Israeli raid on a refugee camp in the West Bank left ten dead, and on Friday a Palestinian shot dead seven people near a synagogue in Jerusalem. The US Secretary of State will also travel to Ramallah to meet with the President of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas.
By Paul Bumman
