WASHINGTON, Apr 5: US Secretary John Kerry will leave on a six-nation tour over the weekend that would take him to the two hotspots region of the world – the Middle East and the Korean Peninsula.
Kerry was initially scheduled to travel South Korea, Japan and China – his first as the Secretary of State – but the stops in Turkey, Jerusalem and West Bank has been added only at the last minute in view of the developments in the region in particular those in Turkey-Israel relationship.
In between, Kerry would squeeze time to travel to London to attend the G8 Foreign Ministers meeting on April 10-11, where he will meet with his counterparts to discuss a range of country-specific, regional, and transnational topics.
Leaving Washington over the weekend, Kerry will travel to the Middle East from April 7 to 9 – his third in less than a month.
In Jerusalem, he will meet with Israeli leaders, and in Ramallah he will meet with the Palestinian leadership.
“These meetings are to follow-up on last month’s discussions as we continue to assess how best we can support the parties in getting back to the table and in having dialogue leading to peace. We remain committed to working with the parties to achieve a lasting peace through direct negotiations,” State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland said.
After London stop-over Kerry would leave on his maiden trip to Korea, China and Japan from April 12-15.
“He will discuss a range of bilateral and multilateral issues, reaffirming the Administration’s commitment to further broaden and enhance US economic, security, and strategic interests in the Asia-Pacific region. The Secretary will arrive in Seoul on April 12, continue on to Beijing on April 13, and travel to Tokyo on April 14,” Nuland said.
While on April 15 he will leave for Washington, she added. (PTI)
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