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 said, as Turkey threatens Kurdish forces in the war-torn country.
Blinken was on the last leg of what likely is his final trip as the top US diplomat before President Joe Biden makes way for President-elect Donald Trump later this month.
On a trip that already took him to South Korea, Japan and France, Blinken headed to a Renaissance-era villa in Rome for a working dinner on Syria.
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, speaking to reporters as the talks opened Thursday, said Western powers were seeking a “stable and united Syria” a month after Islamist-led rebels toppled longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad.
The Western powers agreed on the need to protect minorities after the fall of Assad, who ruled with an iron fist but was largely secular.
The officials also called for “all groups in Syria to respect human rights, uphold international humanitarian law” and ensure Syria does not pose a threat to its neighbours or serve as a base for terrorism”, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said.
Concerns have mounted over Turkey’s threats against Syrian Kurdish fighters, who have effectively run their own state during the brutal civil war engulfing Syria.
A war monitor said that battles between Turkish-backed groups supported by air strikes and Kurdish-led forces killed 37 people Thursday.
The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have worked with the United States on battling the Islamic State extremist group. Turkey, however, says the SDF has links with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party separatist militants at home.