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Kerry says anti-terror campaign critical mission for U.S., Bahrain

Xinhua, April 7, 2016 Adjust font size:

Visiting U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said here on Thursday that the fight against terrorism is a critical mission for his country and Bahrain.

Kerry made the remarks at a joint press conference at the Bahraini capital of Manama with Minister of Foreign Affairs Shaikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa.

The top U.S. diplomat told reporters that the fight against the Islamic State (IS) militant group will continue with the help of coalition partners, referring to a loose international anti-IS alliance put together by Washington in 2014.

" It is an ongoing fight against terrorist groups that we are fighting in Riyadh, Lahore, Brussels, Mali," he said.

On Yemen, Kerry said they have been working to ensure the implementation of a cease-fire in the country under the sponsorship of the United Nations.

Earlier, UN Special Envoy Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed said a nationwide cessation of hostilities in Yemen will start at midnight on April 10, and Yemen's warring parties will begin peace talks in Kuwait on April 18.

The U.S. official also calls for the resumption of peace talks on the five-year old Syrian crisis.

For his part, Shaikh Khalid said that the world powers need to reach a solution to the crisis in Syria.

"We reiterate our support to the UN process to achieve a political solution," he said.

" We discussed the importance of a political solution in Yemen and we are encouraged by recent development of direct talks between the coalition led by Saudi Arabia and the Houthis delegation in Riyadh," he added.

Also on Thursday, Secretary Kerry met Bahrain's leadership and attended a ministerial meeting in preparation for the upcoming meeting between the United States and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) later this month in Riyadh.

The White House announced last month that U.S. President Barack Obama will head to Saudi Arabia for the summit with Gulf Arab leaders to repair relations strained by last year's nuclear deal with Iran.

Dr Abdullateef Alzayani, General Secretary of the GCC, said late last week that the meeting will address regional conflicts in Syria, Yemen, Iraq, Libya and topics of shared interest. Endit