U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. Photo: Chad J. McNeeley at DoD.

CBS News/AP – U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton sought to work out a unified strategy on the crisis in Syria in talks with Saudi officials on Friday as further violence stymied U.N. efforts to convince Damascus to implement a cease-fire.

Clinton’s talks with Saudi King Abdullah and other officials come ahead of a 60-nation gathering of the “Friends of the Syrian People” in Istanbul over the weekend aimed at finding ways to aid Syria’s opposition. The U.S. is hoping to help unify the splintered opposition’s ranks while pushing for humanitarian aid and further isolation of Assad’s regime.

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