US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton met on Tuesday. Ahead of their meeting, Ashton told reporters she had spoken recently to Syria's foreign minister to convey the message that it was time to stop the violence.

This is extremely urgent ... If the government really does ... want to see some kind of change, it's got to be now.

(We are) now in a situation where we need to consider all of the options. So I think there will be a number of moves in the coming hours and days that you will see.