Assad ready to hold presidential elections

Syria President Bashar al-Assad told Russian lawmakers in Damascus on Sunday that he was ready to take part in presidential elections, on the condition that move has the backing of the Syrian people, RIA news agency reported.

It was also reported that Assad had also expressed a willingness to discuss amendments to Syria’s constitution and hold parliamentary elections. Moscow is a key foreign ally for Assad, and Russia's foreign minister said in comments aired on Russian TV on Saturday that the Kremlin wanted Syria to prepare for parliamentary and presidential elections.

Russian Communist party MP Aleksandr Yushenko mentioned from Syria that the president “is ready to discuss amendments to the constitution, hold parliamentary elections and, if the people of Syria deem necessary, expressed a readiness to hold presidential elections.”

According to Yushenko, who met the Syrian president in Damascus, Assad “is absolutely confident of his chances [of victory],” should the elections take place.

During the meeting, the Syrian leader stressed that “the fight against terrorism will become the foundation for a new and just world based on sovereignty and cooperation.” The president also told Syrian media that “eliminating terrorist groups will lead to the political solution we aim for in Syria and Russia.”

Dmitry Sablin, another lawmaker in the Russian delegation, told TASS news agency that Assad had said the effectiveness of Russia's military operation in Syria had exceeded expectations.

Meanwhile, RT news reported that Russia is ready provide air support, in the form of airstrikes, to help Syrian opposition forces, like the Free Syrian Army, who are fighting Islamic State.

“We are ready to back the patriotic opposition, including the so-called Free Syrian Army, with our air support. However, Washington is refusing to inform us of the locations of the terrorists and where the opposition is based,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said.