Washington, February 9, 2016: Foreign Minister of Saudi Arabia Adel bin Ahmed Al-Jubeir met with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry met today to discuss regional issues, including the conflict in Syria, joint counterterrorism efforts and the Saudi-led military coalition in Yemen.
In the joint remarks to the media after the meeting, Minister Al-Jubeir reiterated that Saudi Arabia is a force for peace and security throughout the region.
“We have a tremendous stake in stability and peace and security in the region,” said Minister Al-Jubeir. “We have a tremendous stake in trying to resolve the problems in the region before they consume all of us. We are determined to work with our allies in the United States and our allies around the world to bring this about, whether it is in the war against terrorism, whether it is in trying to stabilize the Middle East, whether it’s in trying to begin a political transition in Syria, implementing 2254, whether it’s in bringing peace between Israelis and Palestinians, peace to Yemen.”
“Our region, unfortunately, is experiencing many challenges, and the resolution of these challenges is critically important to the future of the region and the world,” Minister Al-Jubeir continued. “We are determined to … work with our American friends in trying to find solutions to these areas in a way that promotes peace and security for all people of the region as well as people of the world.”
During his remarks, Secretary Kerry thanked the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz and Saudi Arabia for the Kingdom’s “solid efforts” in supporting the coalition against Daesh.
Earlier, the Al-Jubeir had said that it was in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s own interest to defeat terrorism while Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Defense had announced that it is prepared to deploy ground forces in Syria to fight Daesh (ISIS), if the U.S.-led international coalition also deploys ground forces.