(MENAFN- The Peninsula) Washington has agreed to speed up arms sales to Gulf states, US Secretary of State John Kerry announced yesterday after talks in Doha on their concerns over the Iran nuclear deal.
Foreign Minister H E Dr Khalid bin Mohamed Al Attiyah told a joint press conference with Kerry that the nuclear deal was "the best option among other options".
Asked what he could offer Gulf states, Kerry said the United States "agreed to expedite certain arms sales that are needed and that have taken too long in the past".
The US would also step up efforts to share intelligence and increase the number of joint military exercises with its Arab allies, Kerry said following talks with foreign ministers of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council.
Gulf countries have expressed concerns that the July 14 deal between Iran and world powers would allow greater regional interference by the Islamic republic.
"We talked about the possibility, not the possibility, the reality of increasing the number of exercises that we are conducting together," Kerry said. "These are a few examples and ways in which we believe the security of the region can be strengthened and cooperation will be enhanced."
Kerry added that there was also agreement to "talk about how to integrate the region's ballistic missile defences based on some of the activities of other countries".
Al Attiyah said there was support for the nuclear deal among countries in the Gulf, despite their cautious reaction. "This was the best option among other options to come up with a solution to the nuclear weapons of Iran through dialogue and this came up as a result of the efforts exerted by the United States of America and its allies," the Foreign Minister said, speaking in Arabic.
Al Attiyah also called for a ban on all nuclear weapons not only in Iran but "all the Middle East". As well as his talks with Attiyah, Kerry also met Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Adel bin Ahmed Al Jubeir.
Before leaving Qatar, Kerry also held a three-way meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Jubeir, with discussions centered on Syria. Lavrov told reporters that an announced US willingness to take extra measures to defend allied fighters in Syria was "counter-productive".
In a news conference alongside Al Attiyah, Lavrov said: "We believe it's counterproductive to announce publicly that some US-trained armed groups... will be under the protection of the coalition's air forces," Lavrov said. Kerry flew to Qatar on Sunday from Egypt, where he also sought to assure Cairo that the Iran deal would bring greater security to the region. AFP
Lavrov meets Hamas chief
DOHA: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal here yesterday and invited him to visit Moscow, a Hamas official said, extending a diplomatic welcome to the Palestinian group shunned by the West.
Meshaal last travelled to Moscow in 2010. In a statement released in Gaza, the Hamas official said a delegation led by Meshaal briefed Lavrov on conditions in the Gaza Strip in the aftermath of last summer's war with Israel.
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