US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken arrived Tuesday, in Saudi Arabia for a three-day visit, according to the Saudi Al-Arabiya channel.
Blinken is 鈥� on a mission to steady Washington鈥檚 relationship with Riyadh after years of deepening disagreements on issues ranging from Iran and regional security to oil prices,鈥� it said.
He is expected to 鈥渕eet with top Saudi officials, including the Kingdom鈥檚 Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, during his time in Riyadh, the capital, and the coastal city of Jeddah.鈥�
The top US diplomat鈥檚 visit comes days after Riyadh pledged to further cut oil production.
The visit coincides with Tehran's official reopening of its embassy Tuesday in Riyadh after seven years of estrangement.
The US State Department said Friday that Blinken is scheduled Wednesday to attend a ministerial meeting with Gulf Cooperation Council countries (GCC) 鈥渢o discuss growing cooperation with our GCC partners to promote security, stability, de-escalation, regional integration, and economic opportunities across the Middle East.鈥�
Blinken and Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan will co-host another ministerial meeting Thursday in the Saudi capital on the international coalition to defeat the Daesh/ISIS terror organization, it added.
Reporting by Abdel-Jabbar Abu Ras in Riyadh
Writing by Ikram Kouachi
Anadolu Agency
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