The US has announced its support for Arab plans to create a unified military force to counter growing security threats in the Middle East.

“The Pentagon will cooperate where US and Arab interests coincide,” Defense Secretary Ash Carter said.

Carter told reporters during a visit to Fort Drum in New York that US military leaders who met him abroad thought that regional members of the coalition fighting ISIS should be encouraged to do more if they were able to.

“So, I think if they are willing to do more, in this case with respect to Yemen, then that is a good thing because ultimately it is their region. The willingness of the parties there to step up and do more for stability in the Middle East is a good thing,’ Carter said.

Asked if the US military would cooperate with the new force, he said it would.

“There are partners and security allies of ours, and when they act in a way that we regard as in our interests as well as theirs, we will continue to partner with them as we have been in other matters,” Carter added.

The European Union has meanwhile welcomed the announcement by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman that Saudi Arabia was ready to hold talks with all parties in Yemen who are adhering to the security and stability of that country.

In a statement issued in Brussels, a EU spokesperson said Europe appreciates the gesture for political dialogue by the King, Yemen’s President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi and Foreign Minister Riad Yassin that the door remains open for a political dialogue.