US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said his country's relationship with Israel was stronger than ever, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stressed the "strong alliance" between Israel and the United States, after talks in Jerusalem.
Pompeo arrived in Israel after he and US Vice President Mike Pence negotiated an agreement in Turkey to suspend military operations in northeastern Syria, where Pompeo and Netanyahu began their meeting Friday morning in Jerusalem.
At a joint news conference, Pompeo said he and Netanyahu discussed regional developments, the need to confront Iran's "destabilizing behavior in the region" and intensify efforts to address all the challenges the world faces in the Middle East.
Pompeo stressed that the US relationship with Israel is stronger than ever, and that his country will support Israel's security.
For his part, Netanyahu described his talks with Pompeo as important to strengthen the alliance between the two countries, especially on various challenges, adding that they discussed further strengthening the alliance.
"I would like to thank you and President Donald Trump for your continued support of Israel. The Middle East is an arena of problems and vibrations, but if anything stands out above all, it is the stability and robustness of the alliance between Israel and the United States."
Asked about his reaction to a halt to the Turkish operation, Netanyahu said: "We hope things will go better."
Netanyahu's office said in a statement that US Middle East envoy Jim Jeffrey, US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman, Mossad chief Yossi Cohen, National Security Agency chief Meir Ben-Shabat and Prime Minister Avi Ballut's military secretary attended the meeting.
"The Turks have assured us several times and President Erdogan personally that they have absolutely no intention of staying in Syria for a long time," Geoffrey told reporters.