RIYADH, Saudi Arabia: The US Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in Riyadh on Saturday hoping for an easing of tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran.
Kerry was attending a joint meeting with his Saudi counterpart Adel al-Jubeir and other foreign ministers from the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council.
The US chief diplomat is also scheduled to meet with top officials of the Syrian opposition ahead of UN-sponsored peace talks with the regime of President Bashar al-Assad.
He will hold talks with King Salman and Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who is the defence minister.
Earlier on Friday, a senior State Department official said that the United States hopes that Saudi Arabia may restore diplomatic ties with Iran.
The US official said that the Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s statement of regret over the embassy storming was “significant”.
“Hopefully, maybe that (Kerry’s visit to Riyadh) will open up the possibility that the situation will resolve and that the Saudis will find their way forward in reopening their embassy in Tehran,” he said.
The relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran turned tense and eventually were suspended after Riyadh’s Embassy in Tehran was targeted during the violent demonstrations over the execution of Shia Cleric in the Kingdom.
Source: AFP/DND
