There is a broad coalition of friends of Syria that extends around the globe and includes nations in the region.
Meanwhile, the US State Department said that efforts were continuing to put together a "friends of Syria" group of countries.
And I say "we" in the sense of speaking more broadly about the "Friends of Syria" who have participated in this effort.
Yesterday you talked about the "Friends of Syria" meeting that would be convened February 24th, in Tunisia, and then the President spoke with Prime Minister Cameron yesterday.
"After discussions with coalition leaders and various calls, the coalition leadership has decided to stop the suspension of the visit to the Friends of Syria conference in Rome, " the statement said.
Susan Rice, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, told CNN's "The Situation Room" that the United States will push other approaches to the conflict, including through the Friends of Syria Group.
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But the Coalition leadership went further, and announced that participation in the Friends of Syria meeting in Rome, and Mr Khatib's proposed visits to both Moscow and Washington, were being called off.
Russia - a close ally of President Assad - has said the promises of aid to the opposition made by the US and other countries in the "Friends of Syria" group will encourage further violence rather than a negotiated solution.
Clinton, who arrived in Turkey late Saturday after a two-day trip to Saudi Arabia, said the Friends of Syria will talk about providing humanitarian assistance, how to organize a possible political transition and how to support the opposition with non-lethal means.
Paris, France (CNN) -- U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrived Thursday night in Paris to attend Friday's "Friends of Syria" meeting, the third time the forum will have met in an attempt to end the violence that has wracked the country for 16 months.
Now, there are a whole range of options that the United States is already engaged in, and I preserve the options of taking additional steps -- both diplomatic and military -- because those chemical weapons inside of Syria also threaten our security over the long term, as well as our allies and friends and neighbors.
WHITEHOUSE: President Obama Holds a Press Conference with Prime Minister Erdogan | The White House
The irony is that people in Syria often felt that the Russians were their friends, and many in the West they were more suspicious of.
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