On June 8, at the end of his visit to Saudi Arabia, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken declared that Riyadh was not forced to choose between Washington and Beijing.
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| US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and his Saudi counterpart, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, met on June 7. (Source: The National News) |
Mr Blinken, appearing alongside his Saudi counterpart, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, at the end of a three-day visit to the Middle Eastern country, denied that Riyadh's warm ties with Beijing were a problem for Washington.
Speaking to the media after a meeting of the Global Coalition to Counter the Islamic State (IS), Secretary of State Blinken emphasized: "We have been very clear that we do not ask anyone to choose between the United States and China."
According to the diplomat , the US is simply "trying to demonstrate the benefits of our partnership and the solid agenda that has been put forward".
For his part, saying that relations with the US and China are not a “winner-take-all game” for Saudi Arabia, Prince Faisal bin Farhan asserted: “We are all capable of many partnerships and commitments.”
The Saudi foreign minister said the two sides could actually build a partnership that transcends the "negative borders" on this.
Regarding Syria's restoration of full membership in the Arab League (AL) - a move that was condemned by the US, Mr. Blinken affirmed that Washington supports the reason given by Saudi Arabia for the above decision of the AL for humanitarian purposes.
Saudi Arabia has been strengthening ties with China following recent tensions between the Gulf state and the United States - Riyadh's decades-old security guarantor - mainly over disputes over human rights and oil prices.
Meanwhile, China demonstrated its growing influence in the Middle East by brokering a surprise rapprochement between Saudi Arabia and Iran in March.
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