FILE - In this Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2015 file photo, Russian President Vladimir Putin, center, shakes hand with Syrian President Bashar Assad as Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, right, looks on in the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia. U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s statement Tuesday, April 11, 2017, that the reign of President Bashar Assad’s family “is coming to an end” suggests Washington is taking a much more aggressive approach about the Syrian leader. Taking him out of the equation without a clear transition plan would be a major gamble. (Alexei Druzhinin, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP, File)