Blinken stresses US diplomatic efforts to prevent wider regional conflict
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the US would “engage intensely” to prevent a wider conflict in the Middle East as concerns grow that Israel’s wars with Iranian proxies could escalate into a full-scale regional war.
“We’re working very hard, through deterrence and through diplomacy to prevent that from happening,” Blinken told reporters at a gathering of Asian leaders in Laos on Friday.
Blinken also said he had “a real concern about the inadequacy of the assistance” reaching people in Gaza, stressing the US is “directly engaged with Israel on the imperative of addressing the humanitarian needs” in the besieged Palestinian enclave.
His remarks come after the US ambassador to the United Nations said Wednesday that Israel must urgently address the “catastrophic conditions” in Gaza and that “actions by the Israeli government to limit the delivery of aid” would intensify suffering.
On Lebanon: Blinken emphasized the need for a “diplomatic solution in Lebanon,” amid an Israeli ground incursion in the south of the country and intensified airstrikes as it fights Hezbollah.
He also expressed support for a stronger Lebanese state emerging from the conflict.
“It’s clear that the people of Lebanon have a strong interest in the state asserting itself and taking responsibility for the country and its future,” he said, adding Lebanon’s future, “is for the Lebanese people to decide, not for anyone else.”
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