Obama shares hope with Kuwaiti emir for Kerry

United States President Barack Obama met on Friday with Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al Sabah, the Emir of Kuwait, at a bilateral meeting. The two leaders made remarks following their closed meeting in the Oval Office of the White House. Obama said his discussions with the Emir focused primarily on Syria, as well as the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, Kuwait's engagement with the government of Iraq and ways to improve the economic prospects in the Gulf region especially in Yemen. "I shared with the emir my hope that the negotiations that are currently taking place between Secretary of State [John] Kerry and Foreign Minister [Sergey] Lavrov in Geneva bear fruit," noted Obama, highlighting that he reiterated "what I've said publicly, which is that any agreement needs to be verifiable and enforceable." US president stated that “Our two countries are in agreement that the use of chemical weapons that we saw in Syria was a criminal act, and that it is absolutely important for the international community to respond, not only deterring repeated use of chemical weapons, but hopefully getting those chemical weapons outside of Syria.” Obama stressed that the two leaders agreed a political settlement was reqired to end the Syrian civil war. The president appreciated the Kuwaiti people for their humanitarian support to Syrian refugees. Kuwaiti Emir Al Sabah mentioned humanitarian suffering of the Syrian people and the ongoing humanitarian deterioration in Syria and suffering of the refugees, urging for "interlacing all efforts in a speedy manner to reach a peaceful solution and keep the region free from the danger of war." He said they also discussed the peace process in the Middle East and the recent situation in Egypt. Al Sabah also met with US Vice President Joe Biden.