Syrian President Bashar Assad said Sunday his country must "eradicate terrorism" to find a political solution to its civil war, as he reportedly expressed a willingness to hold new elections.

A member of the Russian delegation said Sunday that Assad had expressed a willingness to hold new parliamentary and presidential elections, and would run again as president.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Saturday that Syria needed to begin preparing for new elections.

Syria last held parliamentary elections in May 2012, and is due to hold its next legislative vote in 2016 .

But a presidential vote was held just in June last year, with Assad re-elected for a seven-year term with 88.7 percent of the vote.

It is unclear whether new elections could be held under different circumstances, and Syria's opposition has already said holding a vote now would be absurd.

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