BRUSSELS, February 8 (RIA Novosti) – EU leaders called for a political transition in the crisis-hit Syria on Friday but said they see no role of President Bashar al-Assad in the process.

“[European Council] expresses its support for the Syrian population's aspirations and for the Syrian National Coalition as legitimate representatives of the Syrian people, and stresses the need for a political transition towards a future without Assad and his illegitimate regime,” the Council said in a statement outlining its conclusions of the two-day summit in Brussels.

The bloc's 27 leaders called for “an immediate end to violence” in Syria and expressed “concern over the widespread and systematic violations of human rights and international humanitarian law, for which the Assad regime carries the primary responsibility.”

Syria has been locked in an increasingly bloody civil war since demonstrations broke out against President Assad in March 2011. According to UN estimates, at least 60,000 people have been killed in the conflict.