Kerry travels to Paris, Kuwait next week

The U.S. announced Wednesday that Secretary of State John Kerry will be heading to France and Kuwait from January 11 to 15, in a bid to work with the international community on Syria as well as to discuss Israeli-Palestinian negotiations. "In Paris Secretary Kerry will attend a ministerial meeting of the London 11 to coordinate with key international partners on Syria in advance of the Geneva II conference," said State Department Spokesperson Jen Psaki. "Secretary Kerry will also meet with representatives of the Arab League's Arab peace initiative follow-up committee to update them on the ongoing final status negotiations between the Israelis and the Palestinians, as part of his continued engagement with our Arab League partners on the issue," she added. In Kuwait City, Kerry "will lead the U.S. delegation to the second international humanitarian pledging conference for Syria in Kuwait, co-hosted by His Highness the Amir of Kuwait and chaired by the U.N. secretary-general," noted Psaki. "With foreign countries, international organizations and NGOs in attendance at Kuwait too, the secretary will discuss the critical nature of international contributions toward the 2014 U.N. appeals for Syria as well other humanitarian issues surrounding the crisis in Syria, as well as its neighbors, " she concluded.