The opposition has long demanded Assad step down at the beginning of any transitional period, but the regime says any talk of his removal is a "red line".
In comments to Russian state media published Thursday, Assad said he would consider ending his current seven-year term early if that was what Syrians wanted.
"Is there popular will to hold early presidential elections? If there is, I don't have a problem with it," Assad told RIA Novosti.
Assad was re-elected with nearly 90 percent of the vote in a June 2014 ballot that the opposition and the West decried as a "farce".
His mandate is set to end in 2021, but a peace process backed by world powers envisages UN-monitored parliamentary and presidential elections within the next 18 months .... http://news.yahoo.com
