John Kerry Prepares For Fourth Visit To The Middle East

John Kerry Prepares For Fourth Visit To The Middle East

US Secretary of State John Kerry is on his way to the Middle East for the fourth time since he was appointed into office last January.

He will visit Oman on Tuesday before travelling to Jordan on Wednesday. He will discuss the Syrian crisis while in Jordan. His next destination will be Jerusalem and Ramallah, where he aims to restart negotiations between Israel and Palestine. He will be joined by the foreign secretary of Britain, William Hague, in his trip to Israel and Palestine.

Following the trip to Israel, the John Kerry will join the African Union Summit in Addis Ababa. He will go back to Amman, Jordan by Sunday going back home.

This latest trip of Secretary John Kerry is more significant than previous trips due to the posturing of Russia in connection to the situation in Syria. Israeli officials revealed that Russia may send anti-aircraft missiles to Syria to prevent the imposition of no-fly zones in the area. Russia has been one of the most committed allies of President Bashar al-Assad of Syria.

According the US Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman General Martin Dempsey, sending advanced missiles into Syria will only boost the confidence of the regime in Syria and make the conflict longer.

It remains uncertain if the US will provide assistance to the rebels although US President Barack Obama spoke about the need for pressure to be applied to Assad by the international community. For the moment, the US is gathering proof on the possible use of chemical weapons by the regime on the battlefield.

Regardless of the position of Russia, the bid for the cooperation of Russia by the US to find a peaceful solution to the conflict is given importance by analysts. John Kerry visited Moscow earlier this month, where he gave inputs on the influence the two countries can have for the benefit the entire world.

Posted by James Fried on Thursday May 23 2013, 2:10 AM EST. Ref: IB Times. Link. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News, World. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0