(VOVworld) - The Syrian presidential media office said on Tuesday that the Syrian leadership was open to any political solution as long as it "preserves the unity of Syria, curbs the bloodletting and serves Syrian interests."

Smoke rises after shelling by the Syrian army, after Russian airstrikes, in Damascus, Syria, Oct. 14, 2015. (Photo: AP)

The statement came in response to recent remarks by visiting Russian lawmaker Aleksandr Yushenko. The statement stressed, however, that no idea or initiative can be implemented without countering and defeating terrorism first. Speaking following a meeting with President Bashar al-Assad on Sunday, Mr. Yushenko said Presiddent Assad was ready to discuss amendments to the constitution, hold parliamentary elections if the people of Syria deem necessary, but such elections could only happen "after the victory over terrorism and the country's liberation”.

On the same day, lawmaker Jean-Frederic Poisson, of France's right-wing Christian Democratic Party, said the settlement of the Syrian political situation necessarily requires a dialogue with the Syrian president who is in place and is elected by the Syrian people.