Washington ‘committed to defending KSA’

US Secretary of State John Kerry emphasized on Thursday that the safety of Saudi Arabia is a high US priority and that the US is committed to defending Saudi Arabia.
Addressing a joint press conference with Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir at the Royal Terminal, he said the two sides affirmed their commitment to rebuild Yemen's infrastructure. The two officials expressed their concerns and said efforts must be exerted to end the conflict in Yemen.
Al-Jubeir said: “We have no interest in Yemen… We are just responding to the attacks on our land.” He said the meeting held the day before to discuss Yemen was productive.
“Saudi Arabia has been providing, and will continue to provide, Yemen with humanitarian aid. Saudi Arabia has been the largest contributor of humanitarian aid to Yemen.”
Kerry thanked Saudi Arabia for its efforts to find a solution to the Yemeni issue and said that the US and the GCC countries understand very well that “we have to put an end to the Yemen issue as the conflict has lasted for very long and resulted in the displacement of over 2 million Yemenis, food shortages and the increase of food prices by 60 percent since last March.
“Over all, 80 percent of Yemenis are in need of humanitarian assistance,” he said, adding that “we (the US and the GCC countries) must find a way to end the war… and we know that military action is not the solution.”
Kerry added that the US and the GCC states are working alongside Yemenis to have a cease-fire in Yemen; they are also offering the Houthis the chance to hand over heavy weaponry and come to a collective and rational solution that involves a third party.
Both Al-Jubeir and Kerry said that Saudi military action is being taken in defense, since the Houthis have been targeting the Saudi territory with missiles, which resulted in deaths of innocent civilians and destruction of property. 

Source: Arab News