Bilateral political pressure sees Blinken cover Jordan, Turkey, while Sullivan holds talks in Israel, Qatar and Egypt.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has arrived in Jordan, launching a difficult trip to the Middle East following the ouster of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
The outgoing US diplomat, who wants an “inclusive” process to form the next Syrian government that protects minorities, touched down in the Red Sea city of Aqaba on Thursday, heading straight for a meeting with King Abdullah II before a trip to Turkey later. per day.
Blinken's trip comes days after opposition forces launched a blitzkrieg led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a former al-Qaeda affiliate, that ended five decades of brutal rule by the al-Assad family.
Announcing the trip, the State Department said Blinken would call Syria “not a base for terrorism or a threat to its neighbors” – a nod to Israel and Turkey's concerns.
Since al-Assad flew to Russia on Sunday, Israel has attacked Syria hundreds of times, hitting airports, air defense facilities and other infrastructure, and sending its troops to a safe haven near the Golan Heights that have separated Syria from Israel since 1974.
Turkiye, for its part, has funded Syrian rebels – known as the Syrian National Army (SNA) – to fight the Kurdish-led, US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which is driving the group out of the northeastern city of Manbij.
Ankara considers the SDF, which has carved out territory for itself in the east of the country, as a “terrorist” group and wants to reduce its presence near its borders.
Blinken's push in Syria comes when the leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) issued a statement insisting that al-Assad must answer for his crimes.
Shaping Biden's legacy
In conjunction with Blinken's trip, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan will meet with Israeli leaders in Jerusalem on Thursday and then travel to Qatar and Egypt.
Both Blinken and Sullivan will be trying to make progress on a deal to end the 14-month war in Gaza and win the release of the remaining hostages held there by the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
The Biden administration hopes that the recent agreement to end the conflict between Israel and the Iranian-backed Lebanese armed group, Hezbollah, combined with the removal of Tehran ally al-Assad can help build momentum in the Gaza accord after months of failed negotiations.
The high-profile trip could help shape Biden's legacy in the Middle East in the final weeks of his tenure before former President Donald Trump returns to the White House on January 20.
However, it is unclear whether Biden has enough influence in the district to secure major contracts before leaving office.
Hamas wants the war to end before the hostages are released, but Netanyahu insists that he has the right to carry out military operations. Israel also does not want Hamas to rule Gaza.
Trump warned last week that there would be “hell to pay” in the Middle East if hostages in Gaza were not released before his inauguration in January.
On Tuesday, White House national security spokesman John Kirby pressed for a deal, saying Hamas “lives alone” and must realize that “horsemen are not coming to their rescue”.
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