Blinken and Saudi Crown Prince discuss economic cooperation, energy

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in the early hours of Wednesday and discussed a wide range of bilateral issues, in an "open, candid" conversation, a US official said.

The top US diplomat arrived in Saudi Arabia late on Tuesday for a visit.

He met the Saudi crown prince for an hour and forty minutes, a US official said, covering many topics including Israel, the conflict in Yemen, unrest in Sudan as well as human rights.

"There was a good degree of convergence on potential initiatives where we share the same interests, while also recognising where we have differences," the official said.

"They discussed the potential for normalisation of relations with Israel and agreed to continued dialogue on the issue," he said, without providing further details.

Hours before departing for Saudi Arabia, at a speech in Washington, Blinken said the United States had "a real national security interest" in advocating for normalising Saudi-Israeli ties but cautioned about the time frame.

"We have no illusions that this can be done quickly or easily," Blinken said.

Mohammed bin Salman and Blinken also discussed Yemen and potential ways to resolve remaining issues, while Blinken thanked the crown prince for the kingdom's role in pushing for a ceasefire in Sudan and helping evacuate US citizens.

Blinken also raised human rights issues, the US official said, both on a broad level and relating to specific cases, although did not say which cases.