NEW YORK: Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and the U.N.'s new Syria mediator have discussed ways to unite Syria's opposition and advance a political transition.

Clinton and Lakhdar Brahimi spoke for an hour Tuesday on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly. A senior U.S. official said the two discussed new strategies for dealing with the Assad regime and the uprising in Syria.

The official demanded anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.

Brahimi replaced Kofi Annan as mediator this month.

The official said Brahimi may retain some elements of Annan's plan from June. But Brahimi told Clinton he wasn't rushing to present a new replacement plan.

That leaves the global body without a clear strategy right now for ending Syria's 18-month civil war.