TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Blinken delays Asia tour for Netanyahu visit
Due to the delay, the top US diplomat will no longer attend the funeral on Friday of Vietnam's late leader Nguyen Phu Trong.
Change text size
Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone
Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken waves on
April 24, 2024, upon his arrival in Shanghai, China. Blinken is starting three days of talks with senior Chinese officials in Shanghai and Beijing this week with US-China ties at a critical point over numerous global disputes. (Reuters/Mark Schiefelbein)
U
S Secretary of State Antony Blinken is delaying his Asia trip this week to take part in a White House meeting with Israeli Prime Minster Benjamin Netanyahu, the State Department said Wednesday.
Due to the delay, the top US diplomat will no longer attend the funeral on Friday of Vietnam's late leader Nguyen Phu Trong.
Blinken will first travel to Laos to take part in a ministerial meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), before heading to Hanoi to offer official condolences, according to a State Department statement.
His participation in the ministerial meeting will effectively be cut short due to the delay.
Blinken had said he would meet his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on the sidelines of the ASEAN gathering, but no date had been announced.
The shifted schedule comes as Blinken is set to take part in a White House meeting on Thursday between President Joe Biden and the Israeli prime minister, according to State Department spokesman Matthew Miller.
The Israeli leader is in Washington for meetings and to address the US Congress, at a time of tension between his government and President Joe Biden's administration, which is pushing for a ceasefire in the Gaza war.
