(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) US Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in the Spanish capital, Madrid, Sunday night on a two-day visit to discuss means of bolstering bilateral ties on political and security levels, and review several issues of mutual interest.
Kerry is expected to meet his Spanish counterpart Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo at the foreign ministry this night and discuss several main issues at the international arena, mainly the situations in Libya, Syria, Iraq, and ways to combat the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).
The two sides also are expected to deal with means of combating terrorism and restoring stability and security in the Middle East, especially that Spain has a non-permanent seat at the UN Security Council for the 2016-17.
Kerry also is due to meet with Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy Monday and then King Felipe VI.
Kerry's visit aims to put finishing touches, after 10-year negotiations, on an agreement to transfer about 50,000 cubic meters of contaminated soil of Almeria after the fall of two bombs on January 17, 1966, to the United States.
It is known as the Palomares accident that occurred when a US B-52 bomber crashed into a KC-135 refueling tanker midair at 31,000 feet (9,450 m) over the Mediterranean Sea, off the coast of Spain. The KC-135 was thoroughly destroyed when its fuel load ignited, killing all crew members.
It is Kerry's first official visit to Spain after he had cancelled a scheduled one last May as his leg was broken in a bike accident in France.
The US and Spain signed an Amendment Protocol to the 1988 bilateral defense agreement last July. By virtue of the protocol, the US has the right of military presence at Moron Air Base of 2,200 military personnel, 500 Defense Department civilian employees and 36 aircraft.
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