New developments following the agreement between Riyadh and Tehran.

On June 6, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken began a visit to Saudi Arabia, aimed at strengthening ties with a traditional ally, amid Riyadh's recent efforts to forge closer relationships with Washington's rivals in the region.

Mỹ nỗ lực hàn gắn quan hệ với Saudi Arabia, Ngoại trưởng Mỹ, Thái tử Saudi Arabia có cuộc thảo luận

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on June 6. (Source: Getty Images)

According to the plan, the agenda for Blinken's three-day visit to Riyadh includes efforts to end the conflicts in Sudan and Yemen, the fight against the Islamic State (IS) terrorist group, and to promote relations between Arab countries and Israel.

On June 7, a US official revealed that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on June 6. During the meeting, the two sides had an "open, frank" discussion on a range of bilateral issues, from the possibility of normalizing relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel to issues concerning Yemen, Sudan, and human rights .

According to the US official, at the meeting, Secretary of State Blinken and the Saudi Crown Prince agreed on potential initiatives related to the common interests of the two countries, while also acknowledging areas where significant disagreements remain.

Earlier on June 6, the US State Department announced that Mr. Blinken and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had discussed economic cooperation and clean energy, amidst disagreements between the two countries on a number of issues.

According to US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller, Secretary of State Blinken emphasized that the relationship between Washington and Riyadh has been strengthened by “progress on human rights.”

"The two sides discussed strengthening economic cooperation, particularly in the areas of technology and clean energy," Miller said.

The US Secretary of State is expected to attend a meeting of the Gulf Cooperation Council on June 7th.

Blinken's visit comes as Saudi Arabia and Iran unexpectedly signed an agreement to normalize relations, with China acting as a mediator.

Meanwhile, the Joe Biden administration remains at odds with Saudi Arabia over the 2018 murder of journalist Jamal Khasoggi inside Riyadh's consulate in Istanbul, Türkiye.

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