Kuwait hopes China backs Annan plan on Syria

Kuwaiti Deputy Prime Minister, Foreign Minister, and State Minister for Cabinet Affairs Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Sabah said here late Thursday he hopes China would show support for the Joint UN-Arab League special envoy Kofi Annan's plan, aimed at bringing the violence in Syria to a halt.  The Kuwaiti minister's statement came during his meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi on the sidelines of the Fifth China-Arab Cooperation Forum, currently being held in the Tunisian capital, according to (KUNA) news agency.  The two officials discussed issues of mutual interest and an upcoming extraordinary meeting with the Arab League Council, due in Doha next Saturday, proposed by Kuwait, which currently chairs the council.  Yesterday, Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled met with his Moroccan counterpart Saad-Eddine El-Othmani, discussing with him means to bolster bilateral ties.  A meeting between Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled and Arab League Secretary General Nabil Al-Araby was also held with the encounter mainly focusing on developments in Syria.