Ending the crisis in Syria should not hinge on deciding the fate of President Bashar al-Assad, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Wednesday.

Ahead of a new round of international talks on Syria in New York on Friday, Ban said disagreements on Assad’s future should not stand in the way of advancing prospects for peace.

“It is unacceptable that the whole Syrian crisis and the solution to the crisis has to be dependent on the fate of one man,” Ban told a news conference.

“That is unacceptable,” he repeated.

Ban indicated that countries involved in the international talks were showing flexibility, but stressed that there was no urgency to resolve the dispute.

“Some countries are expressing some nuanced positions. There may be some role or need for President Assad to stay for just limited months, but that will have to be decided later on,” he said.

More than 250,000 people have died since Syria’s conflict erupted in March 2011, and some 12 million more have fled their homes.

Source: MENA