Kerry Holds Talks With Saudi King About Syria

Secretary of State John Kerry has met with Saudi Arabia's monarch, King Salman, to follow up on discussions he held last week with others about efforts to revive a peace process for Syria.

Kerry met the king at his ranch outside the Saudi capital late Saturday.

The State Department says Kerry and the king reaffirmed their commitment to a unified, pluralistic and stable Syria without current President Bashar Assad as its leader and that they pledged to continue and intensify support to the moderate Syrian opposition while the political track is being pursued.

In a statement early Sunday, the kingdom said on the official Saudi Press Agency that Kerry and the king discussed "a number of issues of mutual concern," including Syria and particularly the developments in the Palestinian territories.

Kerry and the Saudi, Russian and Turkish foreign ministers met on Friday in Vienna to discuss ways of promoting a political transition in Syria. They are expected to meet again next week to further consider the way ahead. They pledged to continue and intensify support to the moderate Syrian opposition while the political track is being pursued.

ABC News