US Secretary of State John Kerry and Syrian opposition leader Moaz al-Khatib met in Rome Thursday ahead of the start of a Friends of Syria conference being held in the Italian capital.
The talks marked his first meeting with al-Khatib, who heads the Syrian National Coalition.
Kerry is expected to unveil additional US humanitarian aid for the Syria opposition at the conference, which brings together a grouping of 90 countries.
The newly appointed chief US diplomat is on a tour of Europe and the Middle East. On Wednesday he said Washington exploring ways to accelerate a political transition in Syria and that the opposition needed more help to overthrow President Bashar al-Assad.