Americas...:Kerry in Qatar: Iran, Syria on Top of Talks

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Local Editor

US Secretary of State John Kerry meets his Gulf Arab counterparts for talks in Qatar Monday as he attempts to ease the concerns of key allies over the Iran nuclear deal.

On the latest leg of a regional tour, Kerry is set to hold discussions with his six counterparts from the Gulf Cooperation Council in a bid to allay fears about Iran after the nuclear deal.

"This is an opportunity, really, for the secretary to do a deep dive with the GCC foreign ministers to try to respond to any remaining questions that they might have and hopefully to satisfy them and ensure that they're supporting our effort going forward," a State Department official said.

The GCC comprises Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Gulf Arab states have raised concerns about Iran's regional ambitions following the recent accord in Vienna with the United States and Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia.

While in Doha, Kerry is also expected to hold a three-way meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Saudi counterpart Adel bin Ahmed al-Jubeir, with discussions expected to center on Syria.
"A key topic of discussion is expected to be the ongoing crisis in Syria," a senior State Department official said.

Kerry landed in Qatar Sunday evening after a weekend visit to Egypt, where he also sought to assure his counterpart Sameh Shoukry and President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi that the landmark deal would bring more security to the Middle East.
"There can be absolutely no question that if the Vienna plan is fully implemented, it will make Egypt and all the countries of this region safer than they otherwise would be or were," Kerry told a joint news conference with Shoukry.

In attempt to assure his Gulf allies, Kerry claimed the US recognized that "Iran is engaged in destabilizing activities in the region - and that is why it is so important to ensure that Iran's nuclear program remains wholly peaceful."

"If Iran is destabilizing, it is far, far better to have an Iran that doesn't have a nuclear weapon than one that does," he said at the Cairo press conference.
While in Cairo, Kerry held the first "strategic dialogue" with his Egyptian counterpart since 2009.

An Egyptian foreign ministry statement said both sides would keep cooperating closely "to improve their mutual security, to combat terrorism and extremism."

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team