US secretary of state, AL chief hold talks on Syria crisis

CAIRO (Xinhua) - US Secretary of State John Kerry held talks on Saturday in Cairo with Arab League (AL) Secretary-General Nabil al-Arabi on the recent regional developments, particularly the Syrian crisis, Egypt's official news agency MENA reported.

Kerry and al-Arabi discussed the Arab and international efforts to put an end to Syria's escalating violence.

During their meeting, they also addressed the current deadlock of the Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations as well as the political tension afflicting some Arab states.

Kerry arrived in Egypt Saturday on a two-day visit as part of his first trip aboard as Washington's top diplomat.

The US senior official, who planned to visit a number of Arab and European states, is scheduled to hold talks with Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi on Sunday on bilateral relations, Egypt's economic recession and some regional issues of common concern including the Syrian crisis and the Israeli-Palestinian issue.

He is also set to meet with Egyptian Foreign Minister Mohamed Kamel Amr, Defense Minister Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi and representatives of some political parties.

Observers say that Kerry's visit to Egypt will also urge political consensus between the Egyptian government and the opposition, which are currently poles apart, as a necessary step for democratic transition and for approval of a loan of 4.8 billion US dollars from the International Monetary Fund to rescue Egypt's ailing economy.