OMG, OMG, OMG! Secretary Kerry To Skip Israel In First Trip
John Kerry will skip Israel as part of his first trip abroad as secretary of State, the Obama administration announced Tuesday.
Kerry had been expected to visit Israel and push for restarting peace talks with the Palestinians ahead of President Obama's own trip to the country next month. Kerry will instead visit nine nations in Europe and the Middle East – Great Britain, Germany, France, Italy, Turkey, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi and Qatar – from Feb. 24 until March 6.
In Italy, Kerry will notably participate in a meeting of foreign ministers to discuss the civil war in Syria. The Obama administration has been under increased pressure to arm the rebels fighting Bashar Assad's regime following revelations that former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta urged such a policy last summer; Kerry has said he's considering a range of options as the new head of State and would talk to Syria's neighbors before advocating next steps.
“We're expecting eight to 10 of the countries who have been the biggest supporters of the opposition to be there and also for the opposition to be in that meeting to present its views on how it's going and ho the international community can continue to support [the opposition],” State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said. “And then there'll be a separate meeting that the secretary will have with the [Syrian Opposition Council] leadership.”
Here's the full itinerary, per the State Department:
Read more: http://thehill.com/blogs/global-affairs/middle-east-north-africa/283769-kerry-to-skip-israel-in-first-trip-as-secretary-of-state#ixzz2LNFLMmTd
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