Washington, Ramadan 7, 1434, Jul 16, 2013, SPA - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry departed Washington Monday to return to the Middle East. According to the State Department, Kerry left Monday for Jordan, where he will visit Arab League officials to discuss developments in Egypt since the military's removal of President Mohammed Morsi and the crisis in Syria. Neither Israel nor the Palestinian territories are on the secretary's itinerary, although the State Department said that he could meet officials from both sides in Amman. The trip marks Kerry's sixth to the region since becoming secretary of state. Most of his previous visits have focused on the (Middle East) peace process. --SPA 11:23 LOCAL TIME 08:23 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/1129661