King Abdullah of Jordan has become the first Arab leader to urge Syria's President Bashar al-Assad to step down.
Global pressure, including a threat of new sanctions, has been intensifying on the Syrian president's regime over its crackdown on protests.
The violence in Syria has left 3,500 dead since mid-March, according to the United Nations.
However, Syria remains defiant, calling its suspension from the Arab League a "dangerous step."
Speaking on BBC, King Abdullah said: "I believe, if I were in his shoes, I would step down.
"I would step down and make sure whoever comes behind me has the ability to change the status quo that we're seeing."
Meanwhile, Syria's Foreign Minister Walid Muallem has said that the government in Damascus will not budge despite its suspension from the Arab League.
"The decision of the Arab League to suspend Syria... represents a dangerous step," Mr Muallem told a news conference in Damascus.
"Today there is a crisis in Syria which pays the price of its strong positions. Syria will not budge and will emerge stronger... and plots against Syria will fail," said the minister.
He said Syria's government was not concerned about the likelihood of foreign military intervention in the country, due to the opposition of China and Russia.
"Syria is not Libya. The Libyan scenario will not be repeated; what is happening in Syria is different from what happened in Libya and the Syrian people should not worry," he said.
In Brussels, diplomats said the European Union is set to slap further sanctions on Syria, targeting 18 people and freezing credits, with the measures likely to be agreed upon at talks between the EU's foreign ministers today.
Arab League to discuss progress
More Arab League talks are scheduled for Wednesday, after the 22-member bloc's surprise weekend decision to suspend Syria.
That decision drew international praise, but sparked mob attacks on foreign embassies in Damascus.
British Foreign Secretary William Hague said that he backed the suspension, but his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov condemned it, saying the move was "incorrect."
"It's important that the EU consider additional measures" against the Syrian regime, Mr Hague said ahead of the EU ministers' meeting.
French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said it was time to look at increased protection for Syria's civilians and urged the UN Security Council to take a stand.
"Today the time has come to see how we can better protect the population. I hope the Security Council too will finally take a position," Mr Juppe said.
Arab foreign ministers drew up a plan to end the violence in Syria at a meeting in Cairo on 2 November.
Under the deal, Syria would pull back its troops from the cities that were the focus of the anti-government protests and free demonstrators arrested since the start of the uprising.
An Arab League official in Cairo told AFP that Wednesday's meeting would assess the degree to which Syria had applied the 2 November agreement.
"The implementation of the suspension is due to begin on Wednesday. The foreign ministers will meet in Morocco to assess the situation and implement the deal," the official said.
The League's decision to suspend Syria prompted an outpouring of anger among Assad supporters who surged in their tens of thousands into central Damascus yesterday to show their support for the president.
Late Saturday, hundreds of angry demonstrators attacked the embassies of Qatar and Saudi Arabia, which were among the countries that voted to suspend Syria. The attacks sparked howls of international outrage.
