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President Bashar Assad Wednesday met a top Russian envoy who said Moscow was hoping to relaunch peace talks for the war-torn country and could host a Syria-U.S. meeting. After meeting Assad, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov was quoted as saying, for the first time, that he “was in contact with our American partners,” The Daily Star reported.

“If Syrians want to meet in Moscow, then we will discuss this issue with the U.S. side and others,” Bogdanov said.

“We have proposed that the Syrians come to Moscow to discuss political possibilities to resolve the crisis,” he added.

Russia is pressing to restart a peace process for Syria that would include meetings between government officials and members of the opposition.

Assad said he backed the Russian efforts. “Russia has always been on the side of the Syrian people and given proof that it backs the people’s right to decide its own fate,” Assad said, quoted by the state news agency SANA. “Russia respects the sovereignty of states and international law.”

The Russian Foreign Ministry said Assad and Bogdanov had discussed consolidating efforts in the fight ISIS and other terrorist organizations.

Bogdanov’s visit to Damascus follows meetings he had with opposition groups in Lebanon and Turkey.

“In Istanbul, I met with Syrian opposition members,” Bogdanov said at his Damascus hotel. “We want to reach an agreement on many issues with the Damascus authorities.”

SANA said Bogdanov had informed Assad about the outcome of these meetings.