He also met with Foreign Minister Alawi bin Abdullah of Oman before a meeting with other Gulf Cooperation Council foreign ministers from Bahrain, Kuwait, and Qatar.
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Kerry said United Nations envoy to Yemen Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed would immediately begin series of consultations with Yemen’s warring sides to push for the renewed peace talks.
Before the meeting, U.S. officials travelling with Mr Kerry said he would update the Saudi leaders on USA and Russian plans for greater military and intelligence coordination in Syria and a potential deal with Russia that could see the Syrian air force grounded while Washington and Moscow cooperate again ISIL.
Since the conflict flared with Saudi Arabia’s entry, 3,799 civilians have been killed and 6,711 injured, according to the U.N. More than 7.6 million people are now suffering from malnutrition and at least three million people have been forced to flee their homes.
Though US officials occasionally issue statements urging “all sides” to stop killing civilians, they continue to support the Saudis more or less unconditionally.
Yemen’s fugitive former government, based in Saudi Arabia, has made similar demands.
He added that Saudi Arabia is the first country to provide humanitarian aid to Yemen, in line with King Salman Center and through direct support, we are very keen to offer all possible humanitarian assistance to our brothers, in Yemen.
In a statement, U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein called for an worldwide investigation into all grave violations, saying a national commission had focused mainly on Houthi violations and not pursued any of the perpetrators.
Rocket fire launched by the Yemeni Army and popular committees struck a power station in southern Saudi Arabia Friday, emergency workers said.
Backing by Gulf Arab states for the Syria plan is vital because they wield influence over Syrian opposition groups fighting to topple President Bashar al-Assad.
Kerry lashed out at Iran, saying its arms shipments to the Shiite Huthi rebels in Yemen posed a threat to the United States.
Yemen researcher at Human Rights Watch Kristine Beckerle told The Associated Press that by continuing to sell weapons to the kingdom, the U.S.
The coordination with Washington’s major Middle East allies came on the eve of Syria talks in Geneva between Kerry and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov.
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Air strikes by the Saudi-led coalition were suspected of causing around half of all civilian deaths, while attacks by groups affiliated with the rebels were blamed for around a quarter of the deaths, Thursday’s report said.
