(VOV) – The “Friends of Syria” group including the US and 10 Arab and European allies, gathered on Wednesday in Jordan’s capital Amman.

"The Friends of Syria" meeting took place in the context of escalating conflict  Source: AFP/VNA

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry along with officials from Turkey, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Egypt, Britain, France, Germany and Italy were present. In a press release after a five-hour meeting, Foreign Ministers of 11 countries called on the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to stand down from power to put an end to the current violence, and to hold negotiations to establish a transitional government in Syria. The participants agreed that it was necessary to set up a time frame at the end of which  Syria’s new transitional government would take control of the military, police and security forces and the intelligence system. The statement from the “Friends of Syria” group also said that if President Assad’s administration fails to reach an agreement on a power transition, the US and its Western allies would continue to support the opposition until such time as a new transitional government is formed.