CUSTODIAN of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman held talks with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and Minister of Economy Nihat Zeybekci in Riyadh, Thursday. During the meeting, they reviewed bilateral relations and prospects of cooperation between the two countries in various fields. The meeting was attended by Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Naif, deputy premier and minister of interior; Dr. Musaed Bin Muhammad Al-Aiban, minister of state and cabinet's member; Adel Al-Jubeir, minister of foreign affairs; and several senior officials. The meting comes as foreign ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states and Turkey met in the capital to discuss peace moves in war-torn Syria. Their meeting condemned "indiscriminate" airstrikes on Syria's Aleppo and expressed "deep regret" at the UN's inability to stop the raids. Russian and Syrian warplanes have been backing a large-scale offensive by Syrian government forces against rebel-controlled east Aleppo. More than 70 civilians died on Tuesday and Wednesday alone in airstrikes and regime artillery fire on eastern Aleppo districts, a monitoring group said. "Ministers condemned the escalation of military operations in Aleppo by the regime and its supporters through indiscriminate air raids against the civilian population and infrastructure," in a statement issued at the end of the GCC-Turkey talks. New Zealand, one of the 10 non-permanent UN Security Council members, on Wednesday presented a draft resolution demanding an end to air attacks in Aleppo. The measure followed the failure of the council to adopt two resolutions on a ceasefire in Syria, one of which was vetoed by Russia during a stormy meeting at the weekend. Gulf ministers and their Turkish counterpart "expressed their deep regret for the inability of the UN Security Council to make a decision to stop the air campaign and the bombing of civilians in Aleppo", their statement said. Meanwhile, semi-official Iranian news agency, Tasnim, has said Tehran has sent two warships to the Gulf of Aden on Thursday, establishing a military presence in waters off Yemen where the US military launched cruise missile strikes on areas controlled by Iran-backed Houthi forces. "Iran's Alvand and Bushehr warships have been dispatched to the Gulf of Aden to protect trade vessels from piracy," Tasnim said. The US military strikes were in response to failed missile attacks this week on a US Navy destroyer, US officials said. Tasnim said the Iranian ships will patrol the Gulf of Aden, south of Yemen, which is one of the world's most important shipping routes.
