Kerry Meets With Saudi Arabia’s King Salman

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US Secretary of State John Kerry met with his Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abd al-Aziz Al Saud, Crown Prince Muhammed bin Nayef bin Abdul Aziz al Saud and other senior Saudi leadership on Sunday to discuss a range of regional issues – Yemen, Libya, and Syria — with particular emphasis on the situation in Syria in the run up to this week’s meeting of the International Syria Support Group in Vienna.

According to US State Deputy Spokesperson Mark Toner, Secretary Kerry also reaffirmed the enduring strength of the US-Saudi bilateral relationship.

Toner said that with respect to Syria, in Sunday’s meeting Kerry provided an update of the situation on the ground following last week’s reaffirmation of the Cessation of Hostilities. On Yemen, they discussed the need to strengthen the ongoing Cessation of Hostilities there, which has brought a much needed reduction in the level of violence, as well as our shared support for the continuation of UN-led peace talks. The Secretary also gave an update on Libya.

Kerry is scheduled to travel to Vienna where he will host with Italy’s foreign minister talks on Libya on Monday, and on Tuesday with his Russian counterpart, meetings on Syria.

According to Saudi state media SPA, King Salman discussed “aspects of cooperation between the two countries and developments in the region and efforts in that regards.” Kerry also discussed cooperation in “fighting terrorism” with the crown prince, SPA reported.

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