DAMASCUS (Sputnik) — Earlier in the day, Assad held a meeting with a group of Russian lawmakers in Damascus.
"The Syrian president assured that he was ready to maintain contacts with all opposition representatives, including armed opposition," Sablin told reporters.
Russian State Duma lawmakers participated in the meeting with Assad said he also expressed his readiness to engage in dialogue with the Kurds to discuss their vision of the country's political order, said Wednesday.
"If the Kurds have their own vision of the political order, President Assad made it clear that the authorities are ready to launch dialogue on the issue," Alexander Yushchenko told reporters after meeting with Assad.
Another Russian lawmaker Dmitry Sablin pointed out that the Kurdish issue was rather complicated, adding that the US side also had influence on settling the problem, though it should be discussed solely with the Syrian authorities.
"The issue of discussing new constitution, new opportunities is primarily a matter of the Syrian people. And the whole situation with the Kurds is, first of all, the matter of the Syrian people," Sablin said.
According to the lawmaker, Assad confirmed that the country's government was "prepared for contacts" with the Kurds, while Washington was "ready for a compromise."
Since 2011, Syria has been engulfed in a civil war, with government forces fighting against numerous opposition and terrorist groups, including the al-Nusra Front and Daesh (ISIL/ISIS), which is banned in a range of countries, including Russia.
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced in December that the Syrian government and armed opposition groups had reached an agreement on a nationwide ceasefire in Syria and regarding their readiness to start peace talks.
