Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said Friday that the priority at upcoming peace talks in Kazakh capital Astana would be to hammer out a viable ceasefire.
"The Astana talks will be a chance for all Syrian parties to discuss everything," Assad told Japan’s TBS television channel.
"My understanding is that the priority will be to achieve a ceasefire," he added.
Asked what he would do if the talks produced calls for a transitional government in Syria, he said the Syrian constitution included no such concept.
Instead, he asserted, a national unity government -- including representatives of different groups -- might be discussed by meeting participants.
If such a unity government were established, he added, parliamentary elections might then be held.
Asked whether he would resign for the sake of peace in Syria, Assad said he would not discuss such an outcome -- neither with the Syrian opposition nor with other countries.