Syrian President Bashar al-Assad reiterated his focus on eliminating the threat of terrorists in his country, saying Sunday that would lead to the political solution that Syrians seek to the crisis they have endured for more than four and a half years.
Assad met with a group of Russian lawmakers and other officials in Damascus, and the state-run SANA news agency said the president stressed that taking out terrorist groups would preserve Syria's sovereignty and its territorial integrity.
One member of the Russian delegation, lawmaker Alexander Yushchenko, relayed that Assad said he was prepared to take part in a new presidential election, as well as holding a vote for parliament, if that is what the Syrian people want.
Assad is serving his third term as president after he was elected for another seven years last year. That vote was held only in areas controlled by the government and was boycotted by the opposition. Assad won 89 percent of the vote.