US Secretary of State Antony Blinken made his first phone call to a regional counterpart on Wednesday night when he spoke to Israeli Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi. He spoke to several US allies, including foreign ministers in Britain, France and Germany, to set out the Biden administration's latest foreign policy stances in a speech and an address to employees. As he gets to work after being confirmed this week, Mr Blinken spoke to Mr Ashkenazi to "reaffirm the US government's commitment to Israel's security". "Foreign Minister Ashkenazi and Secretary Blinken acknowledged the steadfast partnership between the United States and Israel, and that the two countries would work closely together on challenges ahead," the State Department said. The two also discussed regional security challenges. Mr Blinken, although focused on the Biden foreign policy agenda which is expected to move away from the Trump doctrine of America First, praised the recent progress made in the region with the Abraham Accord. The Abraham Accord is a US-brokered agreement to normalise diplomatic ties between Israel and Arab and Muslim countries. In the past few months, Israel reached deals with the UAE, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco as part of the accord.
