John Kerry meets Saudi and UAE officials in order to find solution on Syria
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ABU DHABI: Secretary of State John Kerry met Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahayan on Monday and later held talks with Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir on ways to bring Syrian opposition groups together at a conference in Riyadh next month. United Arab Emirates Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed joined the meeting with al-Jubeir. John Kerry said on Monday the United States could broaden military cooperation with Russia in Syria, but that such a move should not deter opposition groups trying to topple Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. "If certain entities perceive that whatever we're doing is going to help Assad to stay, that complicates issues," he said. "So it has to be done in a way that manages the passions ... among people who have been fighting Assad for four years". Saudi Arabia, Iran, Turkey and the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council - the United States, Britain, France, Russia and China - met earlier this month in Vienna, where they agreed plans to launch formal talks between Assad's government and its opponents by Jan. 1. Saudi Arabia and other Sunni Muslim Gulf Arab states have long been major backers of the insurgency against Assad, whom they say must leave power. Assad has been supported militarily by Iran and Russia, which has carried out eight weeks of air strikes in Syria. Reference Source: Reuters
