LONDON (Reuters) -- John Kerry, in London on his first trip as US Secretary of State, telephoned Moaz Alkhatib, head of the opposition Syrian National Coalition, on Monday to urge him to attend a planned Syria meeting in Rome this week, a US official said.

"The secretary just completed a call with President Alkhatib ... to encourage him to come to Rome," said the senior US official traveling with Kerry, who spoke on condition of anonymity.