Syrian President Bashar Assad was recently quoted by the Syrian state news agency SANA as having told French media, following a visit by French MPs to the liberated Aleppo, that he was “ready to discuss anything” at the projected peace conference in the Kazakh capital Astana.

His question, however, was who would be his regime’s interlocutor from the opposition side.

“But who’s going to be there from the other side? We don’t know yet. Is it going to be the real Syrian opposition — and when I say ‘real’ it means it has grassroots in Syria, not Saudi ones or French ones or British ones — it should be Syrian opposition to discuss Syrian issues. So, the viability or, let’s say, the success of that conference, will depend on that point,” Assad was quoted by SANA as having told French media.

If this positive stance holds true, and if the opposition gets its act together, puts together a credible, representative, delegation, it might be the breakthrough that the sides to the Syrian civil war, most of them, at least, have been waiting.

Until now, Damascus used to reject discussing the future of the Syrian regime. Now he refers to his country’s constitution, which “is very clear about the mechanism in which you can bring a president or get rid of a president”.

No doubt Russia’s pressure has much to do with the Syrian leader’s position; Moscow’s military intervention, after all, decisively tilted the balance of power in favour of Damascus, so it must have quite some clout with Assad.

The Syrian president must have realised that what Moscow wants, Moscow gets.

Now he will have to succumb to Moscow’s dictate, and for the time being, that will be advantageous to almost everybody.

A solution to the almost six-year-old Syrian conflict that left hundreds of thousand dead and the country in ruins is long overdue.

Of course, there are many other powers at play in Syria, but Russia seems to be holding sway, so this could be as good a time to arrive at peace in this Arab country as ever.

Assad’s willingness to engage in talks with the opposition gives reason for guarded optimism that peace talks over the future of his country may take place.

It is, indeed, high time that Syrians be allowed to piece together their broken lives and enjoy peace