During an interview with NPR aired on Monday’s broadcast of “Morning Edition,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated that America is “the preferred partner for virtually all” of the Middle East, but “if China takes initiatives that actually help solve problems and advance peace, that’s a good thing, and we support it.” And that the China-brokered deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia has a chance of success.
Co-host Leila Fadel asked, [relevant remarks begin around 7:05] “I do want to ask about China’s bold diplomatic moves on the global stage, offering to be a mediator between Israeli and Palestinian leaders, brokering a deal between regional rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran, offering to broker peace in Ukraine while refusing to condemn Russia’s invasion. Is China replacing the U.S. as global mediator, especially when you look at places like the Middle East?”
Blinken responded, “Well, I was just in the Middle East, in fact, in Saudi Arabia. And while I was there, I met with, not just the Saudis, but the — all the membership of the Gulf Cooperation Council, and then a much broader coalition of countries that also came together there that [had] come together years ago to deal with the threat posed by ISIS. And what I can report from that is that the United States remains, far and away, the preferred partner for virtually all of these countries. At the same time, if China takes initiatives that actually help solve problems and advance peace, that’s a good thing, and we support it. That — they hosted the final round of discussions between Iran and Saudi Arabia that had been going on for two years, and the result was an agreement that at least has the possibility of reducing tensions between them and solving one of the problems — one of the many problems, that Iran posed.”
He continued, “If China can play a constructive role in — when the time is right — finding a just and durable peace in Ukraine and ending the Russian aggression, that would be a good thing. And we’ve applauded some of the — some parts of the peace principles that they put out, very consistent with our own, particularly when it comes to protecting Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty. It’s good, helpful, important, for significant countries like China to engage in ways that produce positive results. That’s one of the things that I also shared with them. But it’s also important — more than important — that if they’re engaged in these efforts, they are towards good and appropriate ends.”
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