Secretary of State John Kerry said Monday that U.S. ties with Saudi Arabia are "strategic and enduring", as he visits the kingdom to ease tensions over U.S. policies on Syria and Iran .

"The relationship between U.S. and Saudi Arabia is many things...Our relationship is strategic, it is enduring and it covers a wide range of bilateral and regional issues," he told reporters.

Kerry also said the U.S. agrees with Saudi Arabia on Syria , adding Washington will "not stand idly" as Damascus continues to attack its own people.

"There is no difference in our mutually agreed upon goal in Syria ," Kerry told reporters in Riyadh .

"We will not stand idly by as [he Syrian President Bashar al-] Assad continues to use weapons" against his own people, he said.

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