PRESIDENT Bashar al-Assad said today that a ceasefire proposal for the city of Aleppo that was raised by UN envoy Staffan de Mistura was “worthy of study.”

His comment contradicted a pro-government newspaper’s recent criticism that Mr de Mistura had overstepped the mark by publicly raising the idea of small-scale, localised and negotiated truces.

The two men held talks in Damascus yesterday where the envoy introduced the idea of local ceasefires in Aleppo, the last major city where rebels still hold large areas as they battle government forces.

“President Assad … considered that the initiative of Mr de Mistura was worthy of studying and of working on to reach its target of returning security to the city of Aleppo,” said the official Sana news agency.

Mr de Mistura then headed to the central city of Homs, where he toured churches and mosques and met a delegation representing armed groups from al-Waar, the last rebel-held part of that city.