As many as 90,000 people may have been killed so far in the Syrian Civil War, according to U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry who was citing figures provided by his Saudi Arabian counterpart.  If the Saudis are correct, the death toll is far worse than the near-70,000 estimated by the United Nations.

America’s newly appointed Secretary of State is getting briefs on the state of the world from other top diplomats, as is expected to have lengthy discussions with U.N. chief Ban-Ki Moon.

The U.S. and U.N. agree that 750,000 people have fled the country and 2.5 million are internal refugees from the fighting.

Kerry puts the burden square on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad saying only he can decide to end the killing and negotiate with the rebel factions.

A peace plan for Syria currently making the rounds in the United Nations calls for the creation of a new Senate body that will guide the transition from Assad, who must step down, to democratic leadership.