Blinken meets Mohammed Bin Salman in bid to restore strained Saudi-US ties

Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken have met and discussed bilateral relations, the Saudi state news agency SPA said.

They also discussed "aspects of cooperation in various fields and developments in regional and international situations", the SPA added on Wednesday.

Blinken arrived in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday on a mission to steady Washington's relationship with Riyadh after years of deepening disagreements on issues ranging from Iran and regional security to oil prices.

The top US diplomat's 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 visit is Blinken's first since the country restored diplomatic ties with Iran, which the West considers a pariah over its nuclear activities and role in regional conflicts.

The United States offered cautious support for the deal that was sealed in China, the rising power making inroads in the Middle East.

Disagreements

During Wednesday's meeting, both sides discussed economic cooperation and clean energy, the State Department said in a statement, amid disagreements between the two countries on a range of issues.

"The Secretary ... emphasised that our bilateral relationship is strengthened by progress on human rights," State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said.

"The Secretary and the crown prince discussed deepening economic cooperation, especially in the clean energy and technology fields."

On the eve of his Saudi trip, Blinken reiterated that "the United States has a real national security interest in promoting normalisation between Israel and Saudi Arabia".

He said Washington has "no illusions" that this can be done quickly or easily, but stressed that "we remain committed to working toward that outcome".

Saudi Arabia says it continues to adhere to the terms of the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative before it normalises ties with Israel.

The initiative calls for the creation of a sovereign Palestinian country with recognised borders and Jerusalem is its capital and the return of Palestine’s refugees.