The foreign ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries held a meeting today, Monday, in Riyadh with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who arrived early this morning. During the meeting, Antony Blinken stated: "We support reaching a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of hostages," adding that "Washington has placed significant importance on introducing humanitarian aid to Gaza and progress has been made in this regard."
Blinken affirmed that "the United States supports reaching a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of hostages," emphasizing that "Washington has paid considerable attention to the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza and there is progress in this regard." The U.S. Secretary of State noted that "President Joe Biden has stressed to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu the necessity of taking steps to alleviate humanitarian suffering in Gaza."
He added, "We are working with our partners to reach a sustainable solution with security guarantees for Israel," pointing out that "the Iranian attack on Israel indicates the growing threats in the region." Regarding the attacks by "Ansar Allah," Blinken stressed that "the issue of navigation in the Red Sea must be addressed and the Houthi attacks countered," adding that "targeting shipping vessels in the Red Sea affects the global economy."
The session was opened by Qatar's Foreign Minister, Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, who viewed that "military escalation in the Middle East is extremely dangerous," and stated, "Diplomatic efforts must be intensified to spare the region the dangers of wars." The Qatari Foreign Minister called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and the release of hostages, asserting that "we will continue our efforts for a peace process based on international legitimacy resolutions."
Meanwhile, the Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council, Jassim Mohammed Al-Budaiwi, confirmed that "the Houthi attacks in the Red Sea are unacceptable," expressing "the Council's serious concern regarding these attacks." Al-Budaiwi called for an immediate ceasefire across Gaza and effective international measures to stop violence in the West Bank, calling for "an international conference on the implementation of the two-state solution."
