US: Assad has no role in transition in Syria

US State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland has once again reiterated her country\'s position on Syria, which underscores the need for toppling Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Assad has no role in the transitional process in Syria, said Nuland in statements on the sidelines of preparations for holding a meeting bringing together the US deputy secretary of state, the Russian deputy foreign minister and the UN-Arab League envoy to Syria Lakhdar Brahimi in mid-January on the Syrian crisis. Nuland said another meeting will be held in Beirut in mid-January to probe the file of Syrian refugees. She was she was updated on a UN report stating that 60,000 have been killed by pro-Assad forces until now.