by Our Foreign Desk

SYRIAN President Bashar al-Assad told a cross-party group of visiting Russian MPs yesterday that he would agree to hold early presidential elections, but only after the war against Islamic State (Isis) and other extremist groups had been won.

Mr Assad said parliamentary elections and constitutional reform would also be on the table if “reasonable, patriotic opposition forces” agreed to focus on beating Isis first, according to Communist MP Sergei Gavrilov.

Fellow Communist Alexander Yushchenko said all forces “that want Syria’s prosperity” would be able to contribute to a postwar solution to Syria’s political problems.

With 92 MPs, the Communist Party represents the principal opposition within Russia to the Vladimir Putin government, which is conducting air strikes on Isis and other militant groups fighting to overthrow Mr Assad.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov offered at the weekend to assist the rebel Free Syrian Army (FSA) if it would fight Isis rather than the Syrian government, but FSA commander Ahmed Saoud said: “What we care about is Assad leaving, not turning this from a war against the regime to a war against terrorism.”

Human Rights Watch said at the weekend that Russian air strikes on October 15 had killed 59 civilians and asked Moscow to investigate. So far the Russians have mostly avoided bombing built-up areas with the greater risk of civilian casualties, in contrast to their Syrian allies.

Moscow’s offer to co-ordinate strikes on Isis with the US, Saudi Arabia and Turkey was rebuffed by Washington, although Jordan, a member of the US-led coalition, has separately agreed.