The US State Department on Friday repeated its commitment to a political transition 'away from' Syrian President Bashar Assad after a US special envoy held talks in Moscow on how to end Syria's more than four-year civil war. 'The United States remains strongly committed to achieving a genuine, negotiated political transition away from Bashar Assad that brings an end to the violence,' it said in a statement. 'Assad's continued tenure fuels extremism and inflames tensions in the region. That is why a political transition is not only necessary for the good of the people of Syria, but an important part of the fight to defeat the extremists.'