Blinken to travel to the United Kingdom on Monday

(Patria) - U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken plans to travel to the United Kingdom on Monday, the State Department announced, a week after London suspended some arms export licenses to Israel because they could be used in the war in Gaza, Reuters reported.

During the trip, Blinken will launch the U.S.-UK Strategic Dialogue, "affirming our special relationship," State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said on Saturday.

Blinken will also meet with senior government officials to discuss issues including the Indo-Pacific, the AUKUS defense pact between the U.S., Australia, and the UK, the Middle East, and collective efforts to support Ukraine in its war against Russia.

The UK announced on September 2 that it was suspending 30 of its 350 arms export licenses to Israel, saying there was a risk that such equipment could be used for serious violations of international humanitarian law in Israel's war with Hamas in the densely populated Palestinian enclave of Gaza.

The administration of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, who is running to succeed him, has been under pressure from war critics to halt some arms shipments to Israel, Washington's closest Middle East ally.

CIA Director William Burns, the top U.S. negotiator for ending the war in Gaza, said in London on Saturday that a more detailed ceasefire proposal would be presented in the coming days.