Tillerson: Assad's reign in Syria is coming to an end

By Fatih Erel

GENEVA

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said on Thursday that the reign of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was coming to an end.

"The reign of the Assad family is coming to an end, and the only issue is how that should be brought about," Tillerson told reporters on Thursday after meeting with UN Syria Envoy Staffan de Mistura in Geneva, Switzerland.

"The United States wants a whole and unified Syria with no role for Bashar al-Assad in the government," Tillerson said.

In March, Tillerson and the U.S. representative to the UN Ambassador Nikki Haley had said the removal of the Syrian president was not a priority of U.S. government.

After meeting with Tillerson, de Mistura told the UN Security Council in a videoconference from Geneva that the new round of peace talks in Geneva between warring sides - Syria's government and the opposition would start on Nov. 28.