U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry arrives at a Friends of Syria conference in Rome - part of his first foreign trip at his new post.
He's here to meet coalition members of mostly European and Arab nations supporting the Syrian opposition.
Also in attendance - the head of the opposition Syrian National Coalition Moaz al-Khatib.
His group was planning to appeal for military support in its quest to oust Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
The United States did agree to send non-lethal aid directly to Syrian rebels for the first time - though stopped short of offering weapons.
John Kerry offered an extra 60 million US dollars on behalf of the U.S. to help provide security.
The American policy shift reflects a desire to do more to help the opposition in the conflict - but Washington still appears to have no appetite for a military intervention.
The United Nations says that more than 70,000 people have been killed since the conflict began nearly two y
