Kerry was later joined by U.S. Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Joseph Westphal and met with the, king’s son, Saudi Deputy crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Kerry met earlier in Riyadh with representatives of the six nations of the GCC, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman and the United Arab Emirates. He is due to hold talks with Riad Hijab, chair of the Syrian opposition’s High Negotiations Committee, which was formed in Riyadh last month.

The Syria peace talks are planned to begin on Jan. 25 in Geneva, but there is uncertainty around the date, partly because of a dispute over who will be part of the opposition delegation.

John Kerry said major countries would convene after the first round of negotiations.

Peace efforts face huge underlying challenges, among them disagreements over President Bashar al-Assad’s future and worsening relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran.

Tensions between the two regional rivals escalated this month after the Saudi execution of a Shi’ite Muslim cleric. That triggered an attack by Iranian protesters on the Saudi embassy in Tehran embassy, leading the kingdom to cut diplomatic ties.

Kerry said the lifting of sanctions presented an opportunity to work together with Iran to address some of the worries Saudi Arabia and other countries had.

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