US wants Syria to be united, but without Assad

The US State Department has responded to the announcement about the creation of an autonomous region on the territory of Northern Syria, saying that Washington doesn't recognize the self-governing areas within the state.

"We do not support the self-administered, semi-autonomous zones within Syria,'' Gazeta.ru cited representative of the State Department John Kirby.

According to him, the US wants to see Syria united, but without the current president Bashar al-Assad being in power.