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.

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani is travelling to Syria on Friday to encourage the transition in the country following the ouster of President Bashar Assad by Islamist insurgents.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Rome Thursday for talks with European counterparts on bringing stability to Syria in the face of Turkish threats against Kurdish forces there.A war monitor said that battles between Turkish-backed groups supported by air strikes and Kurdish-led forces had killed 37 people Thursday.

Foreign ministers from Italy, France, Germany, Britain and the United States will meet this week over the situation in Syria, Italy said Tuesday.

Deputy Premier and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani will host on Thursday at Villa Madama in Rome a meeting of foreign ministers of the so-called Quintet - United States, France, Germany, the United Kingdom and Italy - to be also attended by the European Union's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will meet his European counterparts Thursday in Rome on Syria, as the West looks to engage the new Islamist-led leadership.

A stable Syria is a common goal a month after the Assad regime fell to Islamist-led rebels, Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani told his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan in a phone conversation ahead of a Thursday night summit in Rome of the so-called Quintet - United States,

The foreign ministers will discuss a landmark national dialogue conference that Syria's new leaders say will set the priorities for the country. Initially planned for January, the

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani is travelling to Syria on Friday to encourage the transition in the country following the ouster of President Bashar Assad by Islamist insurgents.