“I am absolutely convinced that Egypt, Israel, the Gulf states, every country in the region, is safer with one-year breakout for 10 years than two months”, he said, referring to provisions for Iran in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.
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Qatar now holds the rotating chair of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), which comprises Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait.
Secretary of State John Kerry is meeting Gulf foreign ministers Monday to provide assurances that the US commitment to the oil-rich region isn’t wavering after last month’s landmark nuclear agreement with Iran.
Secretary of State John Kerry told the Egyptian officials on Sunday that they would not be able to defeat terrorism at home unless they showed greater respect for human rights.
Broadening U.S.-Egyptian commerce and financial ties additionally was additionally on the desk throughout Kerry’s go to, which comes simply days earlier than Egypt inaugurates a second, parallel waterway to permit two-way visitors on the Suez Canal.
He will also hold a trilateral meeting with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov and Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister Adel Al Jubeir, which US officials say will focus on the war in Syria.
He furthered that the strategic relations between Egypt and the US are based on opportunities and not threats, Kerry said, stating that with Egypt gaining more power, reinforcement of the cooperation spheres would become a pressing matter.
More is on the way, he said.
Kerry acknowledged that Iran is engaged in destabilizing activities in the region, arguing “that is why it is so important to ensure that Iran’s nuclear program remains wholly peaceful”.
Kerry was in Cairo on the primary cease of a Mideast journey that’s primarily aimed toward assuaging Arab considerations over the nuclear deal between Iran and world powers.
The U.S.-Egyptian strategic dialogue, scheduled for Sunday, will be led by Kerry and his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shukry to relaunch partnership between the two countries.
In addition to Iran, Kerry and the Arab ministers are expected to look closely at the situation in Syria and Iraq, which continue to be ravaged by conflict and the spread of the Islamic State extremist group, as well as Yemen.
The United States had announced a stringent military embargo on Egypt after the overthrow by the army of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in July 2013. Security forces killed hundreds of Brotherhood supporters and jailed thousands more, and later pursued liberal activists.
The relations between both sides have soared due to human rights conditions in August 2013, when U.S. suspended part of the $1.3 billion aid to Egypt after the dispersal of the pro-Muslim Brotherhood sit-ins in Rabaa and Nahdah squares.
Kerry will travel on to Qatar for meetings with other Arab countries on the fight against Islamic State and to seek to reassure them about the nuclear deal with Iran.
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Kerry spoke of the need for a “balance” between fighting militants and respecting human rights in Egypt. The “US and Egypt are moving back to a stronger base of relationship”, he said at the news conference.
