Following his meeting with US President Joe Biden at the White House, President Isaac Herzog on Tuesday held a meeting with US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken.
At the beginning of their meeting, the two made statements to the media.
President Herzog said, "Mr. Secretary, it was wonderful to see you before in the Oval Office with President Biden. I want to thank you and I want to thank the American Administration for hosting me so graciously as we mark 75 years of Israel's independence, it is a great historic moment. And of course, marking the unique relations between Israel and the United States."
"I want to thank you Mr. Secretary for pursuing such important goals as containing and limiting, and stopping the Iranian nuclear program, as building a regional coalition of nations which pursues peace and wants more and more integration with Israel in the region. Of course dealing with the major challenges of humanity, is where Israel can contribute dramatically. And we will be discussing of course the situation in Lebanon and the issue of our missing in action and POWs in Gaza. Thank you very much Mr. Secretary for your friendship and support," he added.
Secretary of State Blinken told Herzog, "Mr. President, it is both a pleasure and an honor to be with you, I have had the opportunity to be you here in Washington and in Israel. I can tell you that for me, for the Administration, and most importantly for the President, we are grateful for your leadership and partnership. We have indeed a unique relationship, grounded in our commitment to Israel's security, but also grounded in democratic values. And what you have been doing, the leadership you have shown in affirming those values, bringing people together in affirmation of those values could not be more important."
"As you have said, we are deeply committed to working together in dealing with the challenge posed by Iran. In particular making sure that it never acquires a nuclear weapon. We are deeply committed to the normalization process and both deepening and expanding Israel's relations with its neighbors far and wide," continued Blinken.
"And we are also committed to finding a way toward two states for two peoples, something that we feel is essential to Israel's long-term security and its standing as a democratic Jewish state. In these areas and so many others, our partnership is deepening and the appreciation that we have for the role that you are playing particularly could not be greater," the Secretary of State said.
"I think it is also a very special occasion that you are here on the 75th anniversary, and particularly poignant that you'll be following in the steps of your father in addressing a joint session of Congress, and we are very much looking forward to that."