Obama hopes Kerry talks 'bear fruit' on Syria

WASHINGTON (AP) President Barack Obama says he is hopeful negotiations Secretary of State John Kerry is having over the future of Syria's chemical weapons "bear fruit."

The president said during an Oval Office meeting with Kuwait's ruler Friday that they agree Syrian President Bashar Assad's government used chemical weapons in a criminal act.

Obama told reporters it's important for the international community to respond and get those weapons out of Syria.

He said he told Kuwaiti Sheik Sabah Al Ahmed Al Sabah he is hopeful for progress during talks this week between Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. He said any agreement to remove Syria's chemical weapons stockpile "needs to be verifiable and enforceable."