US Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in Abu Dhabi on Monday to meet his Emirati counterparts on Syria peace plan.

US Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in Abu Dhabi on Monday to meet his Emirati counterparts on efforts to build a Syrian opposition coalition to lead peace talks with the Syrian government.

Kerry has scheduled meetings with Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed al-Nahyan and United Arab Emirates Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahyan.

US officials said he also hoped to meet Saudi officials.

The American top diplomat's visit is part of international efforts to halt Syria's four-and-half-year civil war by putting opposition around a table with Damascus.

Major powers with an interest in the conflict have set an ambitious target date of January 1 for talks and a ceasefire to begin, but the participants have yet to be identified.

Monday's one-day stopover in Abu Dhabi is the first leg of a Middle East tour that will also take Kerry to Israel and the Palestinian territories on Tuesday for talks on an upsurge of violence there.