U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken called for pressure on Hamas during a meeting Sunday with the de facto leader of Saudi Arabia, which had been in talks with Israel but has now put diplomatic normalization on hold, AFP reports.
The top U.S. diplomat met for nearly an hour in the early morning with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the royal's farm residence in the Riyadh area, a U.S. official said.
"Very productive," Blinken said when asked about the meeting after returning to his hotel.
Blinken "highlighted the United States' unwavering focus on halting terrorist attacks by Hamas, securing the release of all hostages and preventing the conflict from spreading," State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said.
"The two affirmed their shared commitment to protecting civilians and to advancing stability across the Middle East and beyond," Miller said.
Bin Salman highlighted Riyadh's diplomatic outreach "to calm the situation," the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported, efforts that have involved calls to regional leaders including Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi.
He also reiterated the Gulf kingdom's condemnation of attacks on civilians and "vital interests that affect their daily lives," while stressing the need for Palestinians to "obtain their legitimate rights and achieve just and lasting peace," the SPA said.