At a meeting of Gulf Cooperation Council defense ministers attended by the US Defense Secretary Hagel, Saudi Arabia’s defense minister called for more cooperation with the US in the face of rising regional security challenges, and warned against “hesitance and delay” in dealing with them. Hagel reiterated the US’ support, but also urged the Gulf nations defense ministers to coordinate more closely with the US on aid being provided to Syrian rebels. Hagel stated later: “We agreed that our assistance must be complementary and that it must be carefully directed to the moderate opposition.” King Abdullah announced new defense ministry appointments.
