G7 foreign ministers seek US clarity over Syria

Foreign ministers from the Group of Seven major industrialised nations meet on Monday for an annual gathering, with Europe and Japan seeking clarity from the United States on an array of issues, especially Syria.

The two-day summit in Tuscany will give Italy, Germany, France, Britain, Canada and Japan their first chance to grill the new US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on whether Washington is now committed to overthrowing Syrian President Bashar al Assad.

News agencies quoted Italian foreign minister Angelino Alfano as saying the session devoted to Syria was called in an effort to prevent a "dangerous military escalation" in the six-year-old conflict.

US President Donald Trump had hinted he would be less interventionist than his predecessors and more willing to turn a blind eye to human rights abuses if it was in US interests.

Given this, the US attack on Syria last week in retaliation for what it said was a chemical weapons attack by Assad's forces on Syrian civilians confounded many diplomats.

While many US allies voiced support for missile strike, they are wondering whether it signals a major policy change and whether Washington is prioritising the removal of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad as a requirement for peace in the war-torn country.

The US ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said at the weekend that regime change in Syria was a priority for Trump, while Tillerson said on Saturday the first priority was the defeat of Islamic State.

The mixed messages have confused and frustrated European allies, who are eager for full US support for a political solution based on a transfer of power in Damascus.

"The Americans say they agree, but there's nothing to show for it behind (the scenes). They are absent from this and are navigating aimlessly in the dark," Reuters news agency quoted a senior European diplomat who declined to be named.

The foreign ministers' discussions will prepare the way for a leaders' summit in Sicily at the end of May.