US Secretary of State Antony Blinken joined foreign ministers and senior officials from the European Union and United Nations in Jordan on Saturday to find consensus on what Syria's new leadership should prioritize. No Syrian representatives were set to attend.

The collapse of the Assad family’s more than half-century of rule has sparked new fears of instability in a region already shaken by the Israeli wars in Gaza and Lebanon despite a tenuous ceasefire and the relentless bombardment on Syria and occupation of more Syrian territory.

Top diplomats from eight Arab countries called for a peaceful transition in Syria with UN and Arab League support following Bashar Al-Assad's ouster.

In a final statement after the talks in the Jordanian Red Sea port of Aqaba, foreign ministers from Jordan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Lebanon, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Qatar said they had agreed to "support a peaceful transition process" in Syria, "in which all political and social forces are represented."

Anti-Assad forces, led by the armed group Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS), toppled the longtime ruler on Sunday following a lightning offensive.

HTS is rooted in Al-Qaeda's Syria branch and is designated as a "terrorist" organization by many Western governments.

The rebel forces installed a transitional government.

The foreign ministers, meeting in Aqaba in the presence of Arab League chief Ahmed Aboul Gheit, said the political process in Syria should be supported by "the United Nations and the Arab League, under the principles of Security Council Resolution 2254" of 2015, which set out a roadmap for a negotiated settlement.

The Arab diplomats also declared their backing for a transitional rule agreed upon by Syrians, enabling "a political system that corresponds to the aspirations of all parts of the Syrian people, through free and fair elections overseen by the United Nations."

They also warned against "any ethnic, sectarian or religious discrimination" and called for "justice and equality for all citizens."

In their statement, the ministers said state institutions must be preserved to stop Syria from "slipping into chaos", also calling to boost joint "efforts to combat terrorism... as it poses a threat to Syria and the security of the region and the world."

They condemned "Israel's incursion into the buffer zone with Syria", demanding "the withdrawal of Israeli forces" from Syrian territory.
They also denounced Israeli air strikes on Syria, which have targeted key military assets across the country.

Since Assad's fall, Israel has launched hundreds of strikes against all the Syrian military assets, from the naval fleets to weapons stores to air defences.

Israel has repeatedly struck Syria for years, and even before Assad's fall, it had unleashed deadlier and more frequent air raids on the country. These attacks have sharply increased in frequency since the Gaza war erupted, with Israel acting with complete impunity."