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Obama, Saudi official discuss ISIL, Syria, Yemen

WASHINGTON, Dec 13 (KUNA) -- US President Barack Obama has hosted Saudi Interior Minister Prince Mohammed Bin Nayef Bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud in the Oval Office, the White House affirmed in a statement.
The two leaders, during their meeting late on Friday, discussed areas of mutual interest including the fight against ISIL, the future of Syria, and the threat of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) in Yemen.
"Praising Saudi Arabia's contributions to the global coalition to counter ISIL, the President noted the importance of working together to undermine and delegitimize ISIL's extremist ideology," the statement said.
"The President expressed appreciation for Saudi Arabia's important role in upholding regional peace and security, as well as the Kingdom's humanitarian support for displaced persons from the conflicts in Iraq and Syria and the Kingdom's contributions to the international response to the Ebola epidemic. They also discussed regional issues associated with Iran and the need to find a political settlement to the Syria conflict." On the instability in Yemen, "the President and Prince Mohammed discussed the way forward following senior-level bilateral consultations on support to Yemen at the White House on December 10, co-chaired by Prince Mohammed and Lisa Monaco, Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism," the statement affirmed.
"The President and Prince Mohammed reaffirmed the importance of sustaining mutual cooperation to counter the shared threat from Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula and of supporting President [Abd Rabbuh Mansur] Hadi, Prime Minister [Khaled] Bahah, and Yemen's new legitimate government as they work to bring stability through implementation of the Gulf Cooperation Council Initiative, the National Dialogue, and the Peace and National Partnership Agreement," the White House said.
Finally, Obama "asked Prince Mohammed to convey his best wishes to King Abdullah bin Abdalaziz Al-Saud," the statement concluded.
ISIL, the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant, has declared a self-styled "Islamic emirate" in parts of Syria and Iraq. It has been targeted with allied air attacks and ground offensives by government Iraqi forces. (end) ys.gta