Kerry Starts Visit to Qatar following Talks in Egypt

Monday, 3 August 2015

Kerry Starts Visit to Qatar following Talks in Egypt

US Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in Qatar on Sunday for talks with his Gulf Arab counterparts on the next leg of a regional tour to ease Gulf allies' concerns over the Iran nuclear deal.

Kerry landed in the Qatari capital Doha on Sunday evening after a weekend visit to Egypt, where he sought to assure his counterpart Sameh Shoukry and President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi that the landmark deal would bring more security
to the Middle East.

"There can be absolutely no question that if the Vienna plan is fully implemented, it will make Egypt and all the countries of this region safer than they otherwise would be or were," Kerry told a joint news conference with Shoukry of the landmark nuclear deal.

On Monday, Kerry will meet his six counterparts from the Gulf Cooperation Council to try to allay their fears about Iran after the nuclear deal.

"This is an opportunity, really, for the secretary to do a deep dive with the GCC foreign ministers to try to respond to any remaining questions that they might have and hopefully to satisfy them and ensure that they're supporting our effort going forward," a State Department official said.

The GCC comprises Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Many Gulf Arab states have said they are concerned about Iran's regional ambitions following the accord with the United States and Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia.