JEDDAH: US Secretary of State John Kerry on Sunday held talks at Al-Salam Palace in Jeddah with Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman about the conflicts in Syria, Libya and Yemen, ahead of international meetings this week in Europe on those crises.

The visit by Kerry, who also held talks with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Naif, and Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir comes at a critical time in efforts to rein in fighting and encourage political dialogue in all three countries.

Kerry was scheduled to travel to Vienna where he planned to host, with Italy’s foreign minister, talks on Libya on Monday, and, with his Russian counterpart, meetings on Syria on Tuesday.

“I want to thank you for the many things that Saudi Arabia is working on with us to great effect,” he told King Salman as the pair sat down.

“On Syria, the secretary provided an update of the situation on the ground following last week’s reaffirmation of the cessation of hostilities,” a US spokesman said.

“The secretary also gave an update on Libya,” he said.

In talks with the Saudi foreign minister, Kerry discussed “regional issues... mainly developments in Syria,” SPA reported.

The king discussed “aspects of cooperation between the two countries and developments in the region and efforts in that regards,” SPA said.

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Naif, deputy premier and interior minister; Culture and Information Minister Adel Al-Toraifi and Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir attended the discussions.

US Ambassador Joseph W. Westphal and US Assistant Secretary of State Jonathan Finer joined a number of Saudi ministers and top officials during the talks in Jeddah.

Kerry also discussed cooperation in “fighting terrorism” with the crown prince.

After his talks in Vienna, Kerry will fly on to Brussels on Wednesday for a NATO foreign ministers’ meeting and talks on the full range of challenges facing the Western allies.

State Department spokesman John Kirby said Kerry and Italian Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni will jointly host the Libya conflict meeting on Monday.

Participants will “discuss international support for the new Government of National Accord, with a focus on security,” according to US officials.

After the Libya meeting, Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will lead a meeting of the 17-nation International Syria Support Group.

The group includes Turkey, Iran, Saudi Arabia and others. The August deadline that the US has set for starting a political transition is a target, not a drop-dead endpoint for negotiations, Kerry has said.

In Yemen, the warring parties have been holding UN-brokered negotiations in Kuwait to resolve the conflict. A truce began April 10 and has mostly held despite multiple breaches by both sides.

The US State Department said Kerry and Saudi officials discussed the need to strengthen that truce and their support for continued UN talks.

A suicide bomber on Sunday detonated his explosives among policemen standing in line outside a police base in a southern Yemeni city, killing 25 people, security and health officials said. The Yemeni affiliate of Daesh claimed responsibility.