Secretary of State John Kerry will meet with UK Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond for discussion of bilateral and global issues, including the ongoing crisis in Syria and refugee situation during his visit to London from September 18 - 20, according to US State Department spokesperson John Kirby told reporters on Tuesday. Kirby added that Kerry will also meet in London with United Arab Emirates Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed to discuss a variety of regional and bilateral issues. Europe is struggling with a large-scale refugee crisis, as hundreds of thousands of asylum seekers from crisis-torn countries primarily in the Middle East, including Syria, seek a safe haven in EU member states. The ongoing violence in Syria has forced some 11 million people out of their homes. Millions of Syrians are now living in neighboring Turkey and Lebanon, while many of them are trying to make their way to Europe. Syria has been in a state of civil war since a 2011 as the so-called moderate opposition, but also Islamist extremists such as the Islamic State and the al-Nusra Front, try to overthrow the Syrian government of Bashar Assad.
