The concern over the lives of the Syrian people due to the ongoing violence threats was expressed in a press release following the meeting.

“The regime must immediately stop the indiscriminate bombardment against populated areas which are crimes against humanity and cannot remain unpunished,” according to the statement.

The United States pledged $60 million in “non-lethal” assistance for the Syrian opposition as well as the first direct U.S. aid to opposition fighters in the form of food and medical assistance.

“Aiding the people who are fighting for a free Syria is a cause to which President Obama and all of us are deeply committed. And what unites us today is our shared conviction that the best solution for Syria is a political solution. The sooner we can get started, the more lives we’ll save,” Secretary of State John Kerry said.

Meanwhile, Turkish leaders prepare to welcome the top US diplomat for talks that are set to revolve around Syria, a day after he announces fresh aid for the Syrian rebels.

The European Union, meanwhile, said it amended sanctions on Syria to permit the supply of armored vehicles, non-lethal military equipment and technical aid to the Syrian opposition, provided they were intended to protect civilians.

The meeting came ahead of a meeting of the Syrian National Coalition on Saturday in Turkey where the umbrella opposition group is to elect a prime minister and government to run parts of Syria seized by rebels.

The United States and European countries have been hesitant to provide militarily aid to the opposition on the ground until now.

The coalition’s leader Ahmed Moaz al-Khatib announced Monday on Facebook that his group will now attend the Friends of Syria meeting after consultations with its members and others, as well as based on remarks by senior diplomats from the United States and the UK.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said in remarks in Berlin today that Syrian rebels should be given aid if President Bashar al- Assad refuses to join talks and goes on killing his own people.

Initially, the Syrian National Coalition threatened to boycott the Friends of Syria meeting to protest what it sees as a lack of effective action from the international community.

For his part, Syria’s foreign minister has said that his government is ready to hold talks with all parties, including armed rebels who want dialogue to end the crisis in the country .

Walid al-Muallem made the comments on Monday in Moscow before talks with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov.

The unrest began in March 2011, when al-Assad’s government began a brutal crackdown on protesters calling for the ouster of president Bashar al-Assad.

The protest movement eventually evolved into an armed conflict, one that has cost the lives of more than 70,000 Syrians to flee to neighboring nations, according to the United Nations’ refugee agency.

Over an eight-week period from mid-December, 255,000 Syrians fled their country. Out of the 860,000 refugee total, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey are together sheltering 97 per cent of them.

Humanitarian agencies are trying to keep up with the rising needs. The World Food Programme is scaling up to meet the needs of 2.5 million people by April.

The “Friends of Syria” conference where more than a hundred government delegates have gatrhered including Greece, US, Britain, France and Gulf countries in the Moroccan city of Marrakech as rebels intensify their push on Damascus.

A draft declaration at the meeting states that the members of the Friends of the Syrian People bloc were prepared to recognise the opposition coalition as “the legitimate representative of the Syrian people”. It also called on President Asad to “stand aside” in order to allow “a sustainable political transition” process.

France, Britain, Turkey and the Gulf states have already granted the oppositon formal recognition. The European Union, in a meeting on Monday, moved a step closer towards recognition. The EU currently recognises the coalition as “legitimate representatives of the aspirations of the Syrian people,” which falls short of recognising it outright as a potential successor government.

Greek foreign minister, Dimitris Avramopoulos has also traveled to Morocco to attend the conference according to an announcement by the ministry of foreign affairs. Mr. Avramopoulos in a recent statement reiterated Greece’s firm stance in favor of the pursuit of a political solution and the opening of a dialogue that will enable the Syrian people to decide on their future. He stressed the need for an immediate stop to the hostilities and the importance of protecting the rights and security of all the Syrian communities, making express reference to Syria’s Christian population and Greek Orthodox community, in light of the latter’s recent loss of their spiritual leader.

Meanwhile, a day before the conference in Morocco, Barack Obama, the US president, announced that his government would be recognising the coalition as Syria’s “legitimate representative” mounting pressure on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

In an interview on ABC news Obama announced that, “We’ve made a decision that the Syrian Opposition Coalition is now inclusive enough, is reflective and representative enough of the Syrian population, that we consider them the legitimate representative of the Syrian people in opposition to the Assad regime.”  It’s a big step,” Obama added.

His announcement stopped short of authorising the US to supply weapons to the opposition, however.

According to Al Jazeera, fighting has intensified in recent days, with rebels claiming they have taken over a large military base near the city of Aleppo, and both sides trading mortar and artillery fire in southern Damascus.

The “Friends of Syria” conference where more than a hundred government delegates are to attend including Greece, US, Britain, France and Gulf countries will meet in the Moroccan city of Marrakech as rebels intensify their push on Damascus.

A draft declaration at the meeting states that the members of the Friends of the Syrian People bloc were prepared to recognise the opposition coalition as “the legitimate representative of the Syrian people”. It also called on President Asad to “stand aside” in order to allow “a sustainable political transition” process.

France, Britain, Turkey and the Gulf states have already granted the oppositon formal recognition. The European Union, in a meeting on Monday, moved a step closer towards recognition. The EU currently recognises the coalition as “legitimate representatives of the aspirations of the Syrian people,” which falls short of recognising it outright as a potential successor government.

Greek foreign minister, Dimitris Avramopoulos is also set to attend the conference according to an announcement by the ministry of foreign affairs. Mr. Avramopoulos in a recent statement reiterated Greece’s firm stance in favor of the pursuit of a political solution and the opening of a dialogue that will enable the Syrian people to decide on their future. He stressed the need for an immediate stop to the hostilities and the importance of protecting the rights and security of all the Syrian communities, making express reference to Syria’s Christian population and Greek Orthodox community, in light of the latter’s recent loss of their spiritual leader.

Meanwhile, a day before the conference in Morocco, Barack Obama, the US president, announced that his government would be recognising the coalition as Syria’s “legitimate representative” mounting pressure on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

In an interview on ABC news Obama announced that, “We’ve made a decision that the Syrian Opposition Coalition is now inclusive enough, is reflective and representative enough of the Syrian population, that we consider them the legitimate representative of the Syrian people in opposition to the Assad regime.”

It’s a big step,” Obama added.

His announcement stopped short of authorising the US to supply weapons to the opposition, however.

The “Friends of Syria” conference, which was held in Paris on Friday, called in its final statement for President Bashar al-Assad to step down.

Members of Syria’s opposition at the Paris meeting said the international community is still moving too slowly and called for a military measure to end the crisis, according to Al Arabiya.

The meeting came amid reports that Manaf Tlas, a Syrian general and personal friend of Assad has defected and fled Syria.

According to French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius on Friday, the son of Mustafa Tlas, who served as defence minister for 30 years under former president Hafez al-Assad and Bashar al-Assad had defected and was heading for Paris, Al Jazeera reported.

The meeting in Paris follows a gathering in Tunis and another in Istanbul, both of which called in vain for stiffer action against Assad’s government. China and Russia did not attend either of those meetings.

Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urged world powers to show Russia and China would “pay a price” for blocking progress toward a democratic transition in Syria.

In response to Clinton’s comments Russia said on Friday, that Washington’s suggestion that Moscow should “pay a price” for helping the Syrian regime stay in power was “incorrect” and refused such allegations.