Saudi Arabia’s Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz received United States Secretary of State John Kerry and accompanying delegation on Thursday. The King and Kerry’s delegation met at Al-Salam Palace in the Saudi city of Jeddah.
Bilateral cooperation between the States and the Kingdom across various fields was discussed, as well as the latest regional developments.
Speaking at a Jeddah press conference with his Saudi counterpart Adel al-Jubeir, Kerry said that Yemen’s anti-government Houthi group must cease all shelling across the border with Saudi Arabia, cede its weapons and enter into a unity government which brings together all components of the Yemeni society.
The U.S. Secrtary of State also expressed deep concerns raised by Iran’s furnishing of Houthis with arms, saying that all missile shipments from Iran to Yemeni insurgents must end.
He also said that the shipments pose a threat to the U.S. which ‘cannot continue.’
“We agreed on a renewed approach to negotiations with both a security and political track simultaneously working in order to provide a comprehensive settlement,” Kerry said.
“The final agreement … would include in the first phase a swift formation of a new national unity government, the withdrawal of forces from (the capital) Sanaa and other areas and the transfer of all heavy weapons including ballistic missiles, from the Houthis and forces aligned to them to a third party.”
The meeting was attended by the Saudi Minister of State and Cabinet s Member Dr. Musaed bin Mohammed Al-Aiban, Minister of Culture and Information Dr. Adel bin Zaid Altoraifi, and Minister of Foreign Affairs Adel bin Ahmed Al-Jubeir.
Kerry’s attending associates included U.S. Ambassador to the Kingdom Dr. Joseph W. Westphal, Special Envoy for the Peace Process Frank Lowenstein, and a number of other attachés.
King Salman Receives U.S. Secretary of State Kerry in Jeddah
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