Antony Blinken was heading on Thursday to Rome for talks with European counterparts on bringing stability to Syria in the face of flare-ups with Turkey.

ROME—US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has agreed in talks in Rome with European counterparts on the need to encourage stability in Syria, officials

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was heading on Thursday to Rome for talks with European counterparts on bringing stability to Syria in the face of flare-ups with Turkey, capping what is likely his final trip.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was in Paris on Wednesday to discuss Syria with French President Emmanuel Macron as European officials prepare to follow the US lead in partially lifting sanctions on the war-torn country.

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani began his first official visit to post-Assad Syria on Friday with a tour of the landmark Umayyad mosque in Damascus.

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani will be heading to Syria to encourage the transition in the country following the ouster of President Bashar Assad by Islamist insurgents.

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani met Syria's new ruler Ahmed al-Sharaa in Damascus Friday, state media said, in the latest such visit from a European diplomat since the fall of Bashar al-Assad.

Blinken, on a trip that will also take him to Japan and France, will later join President Joe Biden as he pays a farewell visit to Rome that includes an audience with Pope Francis

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told The Associated Press that the U.S. needs to keep troops deployed in Syria to prevent the Islamic State group from reconstituting as a major threat.

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Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani met Syria's new ruler Ahmed al-Sharaa in Damascus Friday, state media said, in the latest such visit from a European diplomat since the fall of Bashar al-Assad.