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US, Saudi discuss Syria, Iraq, Yemen

August 14, 2018 at 9:35 am

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo [Yasin Öztürk/Anadolu Agency]

American Secretary of State Mike Pompeo spoke with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman by phone yesterday to discuss the situations in Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and Yemen, the US State Department said in a statement.

It said Pompeo thanked the crown prince “for Saudi Arabia’s support for northeast Syria’s urgent stabilisation needs” and Riyadh’s “engagement with the Iraqi government.”

They also “discussed their support for a ceasefire in Afghanistan over the coming Eid – which will take place on 21 August – and peace in Afghanistan more broadly. They also reviewed the UN Special Envoy’s work to resolve the conflict in Yemen and other topics of mutual interest,” the statement said.

READ: Yemen buries children killed by air strike, Riyadh insists raid ‘legitimate’

Riyadh is leading a coalition of Arab states which began launching air strikes in Yemen in March 2015 to restore to power internationally backed President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, who was driven from the capital in 2014 by Houthi fighters and militias allied with former President Ali Abdullah Saleh.

Saleh severed ties with the Houthis on 2 December; he was killed by the group two days later.

Trump, Netanyahu and Bin Salman ‘symbols of violence’ – Cartoon [Sabaaneh/MiddleEastMonitor]