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.