US Secretary of State John Kerry stated Monday from Riyadh that Washington will work to “empower” Syria’s armed opposition, as his Saudi counterpart Saudi Al-Faisal stressed the Syrians’ right of “self-defense”.

US Secretary of State John Kerry stated Monday from Riyadh that Washington will work to “empower” Syria’s armed opposition, as his Saudi counterpart Saudi Al-Faisal stressed the Syrians’ right of “self-defense”.

As part of his first regional tour since taking office, Kerry visited Monday Saudi Arabia where he held discussions on Iran's nuclear ambitions and met with Palestinian Authority President Mahmud Abbas.

“The United States will continue to work with its friends to empower the Syrian opposition," Kerry told reporters in a joint press conference with Al-Faisal.

Asked about reports of arms being sent to the rebels from countries such as Qatar and Saudi Arabia, Kerry replied: "The moderate opposition has the ability to make sure that the weapons are getting to them and not to the wrong hands."

However, he added, "there is no guarantee that one weapon or another might not fall in the wrong hands."

On another hand, Kerry said his discussions with Gulf officials had also covered ongoing talks between world powers and Iran on its nuclear program.

“Talks with Iran will not go on for the sake of talks," he said.

"Talks cannot become an instrument for delay that in the end makes the situation more dangerous. So there is a finite amount of time,” Kerry added.

In contrast, the Saudi foreign minister said that "Saudi Arabia supports the efforts to resolve the crisis diplomatically… We hope that the negotiations will result in putting an end to this problem... the negotiations cannot go on forever."

During his flurry of meetings in Riyadh on Monday, Kerry also held talks with Saudi Crown Prince Salman bin Abdul Aziz.

The US diplomat also met over lunch with Palestinian Authority President Mahmud Abbas, who flew unexpectedly into the Saudi capital on Sunday night.