US, Saudi Arabia Call For United Front To Fight Terrorism
By Arab News
Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Adel Al-Jubeir and United States Secretary of State John Kerry have called for a united front against terrorism.
At a joint press conference after their meeting in London, Al-Jubeir condemned the terrorist bombings in Indonesia and Pakistan. Kerry said such terrorist acts would not stop countries from protecting their citizens.
He said his country was determined to eliminate the Islamic State (Daesh) terrorist group, Boko Haram of Nigeria and the youth movement of Somalia peacefully if possible, but force would be used if necessary.
Al-Jubeir also touched on a series of challenges facing the region including Yemen and Syria, and Iran’s interference in the internal affairs of the region. He said the Kingdom was working closely with the United States on these issues.
Al-Jubeir said growing tension between Saudi Arabia and Iran won’t affect the former’s commitment to ending the Syrian war. “Our relationship with Iran is separate from the relationship with everybody else in terms of the Syria cooperation group.” He added: “Our objective is to work through the process that was started in Vienna in order to arrive at a peaceful settlement.”
Kerry said the US supports its ally Saudi Arabia and urged diplomacy to end the dispute between Tehran and Riyadh.
“We want to try to see if there’s a way forward to resolve some of these problems without moving to greater conflict,” he said. “The last thing the region needs is more conflict, and I know the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia agrees with that. But there are simple things they would like to see done that help to prevent that. And our job is to work together in order to try to get there.”
Kerry also said he’s conveyed similar messages to Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif.