JEDDA — Secretary of State John Kerry met Saudi Arabia’s King Salman and the country’s powerful deputy, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Thursday to discuss ways to end conflict in Yemen and resume peace talks between the warring sides.

Kerry arrived in Jeddah late on Wednesday from Nigeria for discussions with Saudi leaders and other Gulf Arab states and will also update them on U.S. meetings with Russia on military cooperation in Syria, a senior U.S. official said ahead of the talks.

Kerry also joined foreign ministers from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to explore ways to end an 18-month Yemeni war that has killed about 6,500 people, half of them
civilians.

A senior State Department official declined to elaborate on Kerry’s proposals.

Kerry “will raise our concerns about civilian casualties and damage to civilian targets inside Yemen,” the U.S. official said, adding that he would press the Saudis to ensure air strikes were “discriminate and precise.”