Syrian government ready to negotiate on 'everything', Assad says

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said his government is ready to negotiate on "everything" in proposed peace talks in Kazakhstan but said it was not yet clear who would represent the opposition and no date had been set.

Assad also said a ceasefire brokered by Russia, his most powerful ally and Turkey,  one of the main backers of the opposition, ahead of the talks was being violated and the army's role was to recapture an area near Damascus where insurgents control the main water supply for the capital.

The deal came into force at midnight (11pm CET) on Thursday 29 December. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said rebels had violated the truce deal and taken over a position in Hama province, while a rebel group also accused the government of shelling areas in Atshan and Skeik villages in Idlib province, which borders Hama. By morning, though, calm had prevailed in the areas included in the deal, according to monitors.

Assad made the remarks in comments to French media that were published by the Syrian state news agency SANA.

Asked if the government was ready to discuss Assad's position as President, he said "yes, but my position is linked to the constitution. If they want to discuss this point they must discuss the constitution," he said.

He indicated that any constitutional matter must be put to a referendum, and it was up to the Syrian people to elect the President.