Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken’s first peace mission to the Middle East highlighted the complex and fraught relationships the Biden administration must rebuild to avert wider warfare in the region.
Blinken wrapped up the 48-hour swing through Israel, the Palestinian territories, Egypt and Jordan late Wednesday after holding sustained meetings with four very different leaders who had contradictory ties with former President Trump.
On Wednesday in Cairo, Blinken met behind closed palatial doors at the sun-drenched, palm-lined compound of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Sisi, whom Trump embraced as his “favorite dictator.
Hours later he sat in Amman with Jordan’s King Abdullah II, widely considered one of the region’s top moderates, but who had difficulty getting a meeting with Trump.
On Tuesday, Blinken’s agenda included Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who enjoyed unquestioning support from Trump, and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, whom Trump shunned, along with most Palestinian leadership.