Syrian President Bashar al-Assad met United Nations envoy Kofi Annan and accompanying delegation on Saturday insuring that he would back any "honest" peace bid

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad met United Nations envoy Kofi Annan and accompanying delegation on Saturday insuring that he would back any "honest" peace bid.

However, Assad warned that any dialogue would fail if "terrorist groups" remained, according to the official news agency SANA. State television said there was a "positive atmosphere" to the Damascus meeting between Assad and the former UN chief.

Annan, who is on his first visit since being named United Nations-Arab League envoy on the conflict, made no public comment about the progress of his mission.
  
"Syria is ready to bring success to any honest bid to find a solution," SANA quoted Assad as telling Annan. But "no dialogue or political process can succeed as long as there are terrorist groups that are working to sow chaos and destabilize the country by attacking civilians and soldiers," he added.
  
"The success of any effort firstly requires an examination of what is happening on the ground instead of presumptions spread by certain states of the region and others to distort the reality ... of the situation in Syria," said Assad.