NNA - The U.S. State Department announced Wednesday that Secretary of State John Kerry will be heading to France and Kuwait from January 11th to 15th, in a bid to work with the international community on Syria as well as to discuss Israeli-Palestinian negotiations.



"In Paris, Secretary Kerry will attend a ministerial meeting to coordinate with key international partners on Syria in advance of the Geneva II conference, to be held on 22nd January," said State Department spokesperson, Jen Psaki.



"Secretary Kerry will also meet with representatives of the Arab League's Arab peace initiative follow-up committee to update them on the ongoing final status negotiations between the Israelis and the Palestinians, as part of his continued engagement with our Arab League partners on the issue," she added.



According to the Kuwait News Agency, KUNA, Kerry "will lead the U.S. delegation to the second International Humanitarian Pledging Conference for Syria in Kuwait, co-hosted by His Highness Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Jaber Al Sabah, Emir of Kuwait, and chaired by the U.N. Secretary-General," noted Psaki.



"With foreign countries, international organisations and NGOs in attendance at Kuwait too, the Secretary will discuss the critical nature of international contributions toward the 2014 U.N. appeals for Syria, as well other humanitarian issues surrounding the crisis in Syria, as well as its neighbours," she concluded.


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