No place for Assad in any future Syrian government: Tillerson

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson says there is no place for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in any future government for the Arab country.

Tillerson made the remarks on Tuesday as foreign ministers from the Group of Seven (G7) countries held meetings in Italy on Monday and Tuesday for a diplomatic push to resolve the six-year-old Syrian crisis which was created by the US and its allies.

"Our hope is Bashar al-Assad will not be part of that future,” Tillerson stated.

"The United States' priority in Syria and Iraq remains the defeat of ISIS," he added, using an alternative acronym for the Daesh (ISIL) terrorist group.  

"As events shift, the United States will continue to evaluate its strategic options and opportunities to de-escalate violence across Syria," he continued.

Tillerson is due to travel to Moscow later on Tuesday at the end of the two-day meetings in the Italian city of Lucca with his Italian, German, French, British, Japanese and Canadian counterparts.

Tillerson again accused Moscow of failing to enforce the 2013 deal meant to get Syria rid of its chemical arsenal.

He said that Russia had "failed to uphold the agreements that... stipulated Russia, as the guarantor of a Syria free of chemical weapons, would locate, secure, and destroy all such armaments in Syri.”

The top US diplomat said it was "unclear whether Russia failed to take this obligation seriously" or had "been simply incompetent.”

On Sunday, Tillerson also said the April 4 chemical incident happened because of Russia’s failure “to achieve its commitment to the international community."

SS