Muscat and Damascus agreed to work together to end Syria's brutal war, official media reported, as the Syrian foreign minister Thursday made his first Gulf visit since the conflict erupted in 2011.

Foreign Minister Walid Muallem met Oman's chief diplomat Yussef bin Alawi to discuss "several regional and international topics of common interest," the official Omani news agency ONA said.

An American among several believed held by Huthis in Yemen was freed and receiving treatment Tuesday in neighboring Oman, which has been hosting talks between Washington and the Iran-backed Shiite rebels.

A diplomat in Muscat said the talks between the Americans and the Huthis were aimed at promoting a proposed peace conference in Geneva, which the United Nations has so far failed to persuade the warring parties to attend.

An American among several believed held by Huthi Shiites in war-ravaged Yemen was Monday freed and flown to neighboring Oman, host of talks between the US and the Iran-backed rebels.

A diplomat in Oman said the talks between the Americans and the Huthis were aimed at promoting peace negotiations, which the U.N. has so far failed to organize in Geneva.

Oman's royal court sought to reassure the nation Thursday about the health of 73-year-old ruler Sultan Qaboos who has been undergoing treatment in Germany for almost three months.

"The sultan is in good health and continuing to follow the medical treatment he has been prescribed and which with the help of God will produce the required results," it said in a statement to mark the Muslim feast of Eid al-Adha that starts on Saturday.

President Ali Abdullah Saleh was en route to the United States, Yemen's state news agency said on Monday, as mutinous soldiers called for the ouster of the air force commander, his half-brother.

The announcement came a day after Saleh in a televised address apparently marking the end of his rule appealed for forgiveness from the Yemeni people for "any shortcomings" during his 33 years in power.

Tanks dispersed demonstrators blocking the port in the industrial city of Sohar and the coast road to Muscat on Tuesday as protests were also reported elsewhere in Oman, Agence France Presse journalists and witnesses said.

The operation went peacefully and Omani forces drove away protesters who had been keeping vigil at the Earth Roundabout, a landmark intersection where at least one protester was killed in clashes on Sunday.

Omani police shot dead two demonstrators on Sunday as the deadly wave of protests rocking the Arab world spread to the normally placid pro-Western sultanate, a security official said.

The protests in Sohar, more than 200 kilometers northwest of Muscat, prompted Sultan Qaboos to introduce swift appeasing measures, including the provision of jobs for 50,000 citizens and unemployment benefits.