Friends of Syria gather in Jordan to discuss Syrian conflict

Foreign ministers of the United States, Britain, France, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Germany and Italy are gathering in Amman, Jordan, tp lay the groundwork for talks to bring about an end to the Syrian conflict.

It was unclear whether the opposition Syrian National Coalition would attend, dpa reports.

The meeting comes ahead of an international conference on Syria being organized by the US and Russia to urge Damascus and the opposition to negotiate an end to the bloody 26-month conflict.

Friends of Syria was formed by more than 50 countries and international groupings after Russia and China blocked a UN Security Council resolution condemning Damascus over the bloodshed.

Russia and other Syria allies, Iran and China, are not part of the group.

At least 70,000 people have been killed since the conflict began in March 2011, according to the latest UN estimate.