Comments by Secretary of State Antony Blinken this weekend were the first time a U.S. official has acknowledged contact with the Syrian rebel group that drove Bashar al-Assad from power.

Antony Blinken talks speaks on everything from the prospect of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, to the war in Ukraine and what the U.S. is doing to bring home Americans detained in Russia.

Blinken's sixth time in the region since the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks on Israel comes as talks continue in Doha, Qatar, and Russia and China veto U.S. Gaza cease-fire resolution.

Blinken said four Arab nations and Turkey promise to help rebuild Gaza. But they want to see steps toward creation of a Palestinian state, which Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed not to allow.

It's the first significant drawdown of troops since the war began, and could signal that fighting is being scaled back in some areas. But the biggest city in southern Gaza still is fiercely contested.

Both sides in the talks face pressure to reach an agreement after past steps like limiting direct travel into Mexico or deporting some migrants failed to stop the influx.

Tonga is just one stop on a tour of the Pacific by Secretary of State Antony Blinken this week. He is the latest in a parade of US diplomats to visit Oceania in the last year.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken's trip shows the Biden administration is keen to reignite diplomacy and inject stability to its dealings with China, but whether it was a success remains to be seen.

Much of the Biden administration's approach to the world focuses on the U.S. competition with China.

Kim, who sits on the House China panel, disagrees with its chair's characterization of the rivalry. He hopes that Secretary of State Antony Blinken's visit will mean more regular talks with China.

In a first visit to China by a member of President Biden's Cabinet, the secretary of state will seek "open lines of communication" with Beijing but no diplomatic breakthrough is expected.

He spent Friday and Saturday in Atlanta meeting with the CDC, Mayor Andre Dickens and HBCU leaders. He also gave the commencement address at Georgia Tech.

Passports are in "unprecedented demand," U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said. In 2022, the State Department issued a record 22 million passports — and 2023 is on track to break that record.

Relations between the two countries have collapsed over the Ukraine war, with the U.S. slapping thousands of sanctions on Russia, and militarily, economically and diplomatically supporting Ukraine.

The meeting is the highest level of contact between the two nations since the discovery of a Chinese balloon in U.S. airspace at the beginning of this month.