US Secretary of State Tony Blincoln is said to have met with Crown Prince bin Salman of Saudi Arabia and had an open conversation.
It seems that the relationship between the two countries, which had been cold for a while, is changing to a thawing atmosphere.
Reporter Kim Seon-hee reports.
[기자]
US Secretary of State Tony Blincoln at the Gulf Cooperation Conference in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Secretary Blincoln emphasized that the United States has not left the Middle East.
[토니 블링컨 / 미 국무장관 : 미국은 중동에 남아있습니다. 그리고 중동을 위해 가능한 가장 밝고 강력한 국가를 건설하기 위하여 여러분과 협력하는 데 많은 투자를 하고 있습니다.]
Minister Blincoln’s visit to Saudi Arabia took place in an atmosphere of thaw between the two countries.
I also had a meeting with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, but AFP reported that Minister Blincoln raised concerns about human rights issues and had an honest conversation.
The two countries quickly fell apart after the 2018 murder of Saudi-born journalist Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi intelligence agents.
President Joe Biden called bin Salman a ‘murderer’ and said he would hold him accountable until the end.
When oil prices increased due to the war in Ukraine, the Saudis continued to ignore the demand in the United States for more production, and the emotional depression deepened.
However, the atmosphere has changed as Saudi Arabia normalized diplomacy with Iran, which was an enemy through Chinese mediation.
The United States is working hard to improve relations with Saudi Arabia to stabilize oil prices and keep China under control in the Middle East.
[존 커비/백악관 국가안보회의전략소통조정관: 이 파트너십은 사우디아라비아와 미국 산업계가 80년간 협력해온 또 다른 이정표이기도 합니다.]
The day Minister Blincoln visited Saudi Arabia was also the day the US professional golf PGA Tour and Live Golf, sponsored by the Saudi sovereign wealth fund, announced the merger.
As the long golf war between the United States and Saudi Arabia ended, foreign media evaluated that Saudi Arabia had actually won diplomacy and golf.
This is Kim Seon-hee’s YTN.
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