Blinken announces $150 mln US aid for areas in Syria, Iraq freed from ISIS

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Thursday that the US would provide nearly $150 million in aid for areas in Syria and Iraq that were liberated from ISIS.

He spoke at a ministerial conference hosted by Saudi Arabia on combatting the group, which no longer controls any territory – but whose affiliates still carry out attacks across Africa, Asia and the Middle East.

For all the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.

The Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS includes more than 80 countries and continues to coordinate action against the extremist group, which at its height controlled large parts of Syria and Iraq. Blinken said the US pledge is part of new funding amounting to more than $600 million.

“Poor security and humanitarian conditions. Lack of economic opportunity. These are the fuel for the kind of desperation on which ISIS feeds and recruits,” he said in brief remarks at the opening of the conference, using a common acronym for the extremist group. “So we have to stay committed to our stabilization goals.

Blinken did not specify, but US aid to Syria is expected to flow through Kurdish allies, the UN or international aid groups, as the US and other Western countries maintain sanctions on President Bashar al-Assad’s government.

Blinken co-hosted the conference as part of a two-day visit to the Kingdom in which he met with senior Saudi officials, including the country’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Blinken also attended a meeting of Gulf foreign ministers.

Under the Crown Prince, the Kingdom has embarked on a massive economic and social transformation aimed at reducing its dependence on oil and attracting commerce, investment and tourism.

The Kingdom is also hard at work transforming itself into a global power in the world of sports, attracting football superstars like Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema to its local clubs with lavish contracts and entering into a commercial merger with the PGA tour.

The State Department said Blinken engaged in wide-ranging discussions with Saudi and other Arab officials, including on ending the war in Yemen, shoring up an oft-violated US-Saudi cease-fire in Sudan, and reducing Israeli-Palestinian friction.

Read more:

Saudi Arabia will continue efforts to prevent ISIS resurgence, combat terrorism: FM

Saudi Crown Prince, top US diplomat vow to work together for regional stability

Blinken and Saudi FM pledge to continue cooperation to end fighting in Sudan