* Hijab says can't see political solution with Assad present
* France, Germany say ceasefire in Aleppo key to peace talks
* France wants Syrian opposition supporters to meet
By Joseph Nasr
BERLIN, May 4 (Reuters) - Attempts at a dialogue with the Syrian government have reached an impasse and no progress in ending the civil war is possible without the departure of President Bashar al-Assad, the coordinator for the Syrian opposition said on Wednesday.
The first major ceasefire in Syria's five-year civil war, which took hold in February with U.S. and Russian sponsorship, has virtually collapsed in recent weeks, with the city of Aleppo bearing the brunt of the renewed violence.
"We saw at the last three rounds of talks (with the government in Geneva) that we had reached a dead end," Syrian opposition coordinator Riad Hijab told reporters in Berlin before talks with the German and French foreign ministers.
"The regime doesn't want to discuss a transitional government and for us it is impossible to discuss the issue of a transitional government, a unity government. A political solution with Bashar al-Assad still present cannot happen."
Hijab called for a general ceasefire across Syria, rather than temporary truces limited to specific areas as at present.
The opposition also wants a new initiative that sets a clear timetable for a transition without the Syrian president and his supporters, Hijab added.
The foreign ministers of France and Germany said after their talks with Hijab that achieving a ceasefire in the divided northern city of Aleppo - Syria's largest before the war - was key to any renewal of peace talks.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said Assad's government bore full responsibility for undermining the ceasefire in Aleppo.
"I believe everyone knows and can conclude that there could be no return to the political talks in Geneva if a ceasefire in and around Aleppo is not observed," German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier told reporters.
Earlier, Ayrault said France plans to invite ministers from countries that support Syrian opposition groups to a meeting in Paris on May 9 to seek ways to break the political and military deadlock in the country.
Ayrault said France had decided on such a step because there appeared no immediate prospect of the 17-nation International Syria Support Group (ISSG) convening to try to restore the ceasefire wrecked by the upsurge of fighting. (Reporting by Joseph Nasr; Writing by Madeline Chambers; Editing by Paul Carrel and Gareth Jones)
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