The announcement comes after President Biden announced he was ending U.S. support for the Saudi Arabian war in Yemen.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has considered “top priorities” for the administration of President Joe Biden, including the war in Yemen, in his first phone call by Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Friday.
In a statement on Saturday afternoon, the State Department quoted Ned Price as saying that Blinken and bin Farhan were “talking about regional security, counter-philosophy, and cooperation to prevent and defend against attacks on the Kingdom” .
“The Secretary outlined several key priorities of the new administration including raising human rights issues and ending the war in Yemen,” Price said.
The call comes after Biden announced Thursday that he was ending U.S. support for Saudi Arabia’s war in Yemen, where he has been involved since 2015 in defying the government. Houthi rebels attached to Iran.
Biden also said his administration would end all support, including tied arms sales, for Saudi Arabia in the war, which led to what the United Nations describes as the worst humanitarian crisis in the the world.
He also named diplomat Timothy Lenderking, who has extensive knowledge of the region, as the U.S. special envoy for Yemen.
The official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) said early Saturday that Bin Farhan also congratulated Blinken and said Riyadh was looking forward to working with Washington.
The nation was keen to work with U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration to maintain “security and stability” in the region, she said.
Blinken and bin Farhan also spoke on the “historical and strategic relations” between the two countries, the group said.
Blinken made his first call to the Gulf state since taking up his new post as United Arab Emirates foreign minister on Thursday.
Threats threat
Saudi Arabia accepted Biden’s decisions related to the Yemeni war by welcoming its “commitment to cooperate with the kingdom to defend its sovereignty and counter threats against it”, the SPA said. .
Price, the considering State Department, earlier in the week noted that Biden had made it clear that the U.S. was still supporting Saudi Arabia outside the Yemeni war.
He described the administration’s position as a “return to normalcy” in reviewing all arms contracts.
In ending support for the Saudi war in Yemen, Biden was fulfilling a campaign promise to activists who are horrified by the suffering.
The great six-year war in Yemen has killed tens of thousands and destroyed millions.
Yemen’s international government, backed by Saudi Arabia, and the Houthis have welcomed Biden’s stance and renewed effort to end the conflict.
A U.S. State Department official also said Friday that the Biden administration intends to revoke a “terrorist” designation for the Houthi move in Yemen in response to the country’s humanitarian crisis.
The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) welcomed that decision, saying the designation would have “had a devastating humanitarian impact” on the war-torn country.
“This is a sigh of relief and victory for the Yemeni people, and a strong message from the U.S. that they put the interests of Yemenis first,” Yemeni NRC country leader Mohamed Abdi said in a statement.
Coupled with President Biden’s announcement that he will end U.S. support for the war in Yemen, this is a rare glimmer of hope for a country where six years of brutal war have killed tens of thousands of people and destroying houses, farms, markets, schools and hospitals, and pushing civilians to the brink of famine. “