Daily Times

JEDDAH: US Secretary of State John Kerry held talks in Saudi Arabia on Sunday seeking to enlist its support ahead of a potential showdown with Russia at crunch talks on the conflicts in Syria and Libya.

Its allies Cairo and Abu Dhabi have also been major supporters of the administration in eastern Libya which is still withholding its support from a UN- and US-backed unity government in Tripoli. Kerry was to fly to Vienna for the meetings on Libya and Syria on Monday and Tuesday.

In talks with his Saudi counterpart Adel al-Jubeir, Kerry discussed regional issues… mainly developments in Syria, the Saudi Press Agency reported. “I want to thank you for the many things that Saudi Arabia is working on with us to great effect,” he told King Salman bin Abdul Aziz.

The king discussed with Kerry aspects of cooperation between the two countries and developments in the region and efforts in that regards,” SPA reported. Kerry also discussed cooperation in fighting terrorism with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, who is also interior minister, SPA said.

After his talks in Vienna, Kerry will fly on to Brussels on Wednesday for a NATO foreign ministers’ meeting and talks on the full range of challenges facing the Western allies.