Assad is ready to work with militants willing to disarm

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad told Russia's RIA news agency that he was ready to accept any militant willing to lay down arms in order to avoid further bloodshed in the country, the agency reported on Thursday.

He also said that deployment of United Nations peace keepers in Syria would be illogical and impossible.

"It's unrealistic because such forces, as a rule, act on the basis of international agreements," Assad was quoted as saying. "Such agreements should have the approval of some countries. What countries? In this case, there are no other countries. There is only the Syrian government - one entity."