BANGKOK — Myanmar's president said Thursday that he backed changing the country's constitution to allow "any citizen" to become president, an apparent reference to Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the Nobel Prize-winning democracy advocate whose political ambitions have been thwarted for decades by the military.

In his most explicit remarks on the issue to date, President Thein Sein said it would be "healthy" to amend the Constitution "from time to time to address the national, economic and social needs of our society." He added that he "would not want restrictions being imposed on the right of any citizen to become the leader of the country."

The country's Constitution, which was written by a now defunct military junta, specifically bars candidates for Myanmar's presidency and vice presidency from having close family members who "owe allegiance to a foreign power" — a provision many analysts say was written to block the popular Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi from power. Her two sons with her British husband were born in Britain and live outside Myanmar, also known as Burma.

Mr. Thein Sein is a former general and his comments, made in a speech on national television and reprinted in the Burmese state news media on Thursday, carry weight across Burmese society. But any constitutional changes need the support of more than 75 percent of the members of Parliament, and Mr. Thein Sein's leverage over the legislature is seen as limited.

The majority party includes at least one powerful adversary for the presidency who would have no apparent interest in changing the constitution for Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi's benefit. National elections are scheduled for late next year.

The president's remarks come as the country has begun grappling with the deadlock over Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi's possible candidacy that has been looming over the future of the fragile democracy that emerged from a long-ruling military junta in 2011.

Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi and her allies have said they were considering a boycott of the 2015 elections if the law that effectively prevents her from running for the presidency is not changed.

Letting her run would be construed by some as a sign to the outside world, which has begun to invest heavily in Myanmar, that democratic changes are moving forward. She has repeatedly said she would run if allowed.

Mr. Thein Sein's comments come after the largest political party in the country, the Union Solidarity and Development Party, offered a list of proposed amendments to the Constitution.

Top lawmakers from the party, which is led by senior military officers from the country's former junta, proposed a minor change to the constitutional qualifications for president: spouses of a candidate's children would not need to have Burmese citizenship. But the lawmakers retained the clause saying that the children must be Burmese citizens.

U Khin Maung Htoo, a member of Parliament for the party, said in order for Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi to qualify for president, "her two sons must apply for Burmese citizenship and give up foreign citizenship."

According to Derek Tonkin, a former British diplomat who is the chairman of Network Myanmar, which monitors politics in the country, Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi's two sons, Kim and Alexander, once held Myanmar nationality but their citizenship was revoked by the junta. Mr. Tonkin said that the two sons would probably be reluctant to renounce their foreign citizenship.

Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi, who is recovering from surgery to her foot, indicated Thursday that she considered the suggested change inadequate. In remarks broadcast on Radio Free Asia, she said the nationality of adult children was not relevant and that the requirement "does not fit with democratic values."

"They are adults," she said. "Parents don't have responsibility for them."

Mr. Thein Sein did not refer to the majority party's proposals in his own remarks, so it was unclear if he was pushing the party to go further. It also remains unclear if he will run for a second term.

All changes to the Constitution would require the assent of the country's still-powerful military. Because amending the Constitution requires more than 75 percent approval of the Parliament, the military, which is allotted 25 percent of the seats, has an effective veto.

Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi, a former political prisoner who was awarded the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize for her defiance of military rule, was blocked from contesting elections in 1990 on the grounds of receiving help from foreigners.

In April 2012, she was allowed to run for the Myanmar Parliament and won, a major milestone in Myanmar's transition from military dictatorship to democracy.

More recently, Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi, the daughter of the country's independence hero, has been criticized by human rights groups abroad for her lack of support for the country's persecuted Muslim minority. Her standing has also fallen among Myanmar's other minority groups, which feel she has neglected their calls for more autonomy and befriended her former jailers: the military. But she remains very popular over all, and her party is generally considered the front-runner in the 2015 elections.

In addition to the amendment relating to the presidential qualifications, Myanmar's Parliament is expected to consider a flurry of other amendments to the Constitution.

The Union Solidarity and Development Party proposed far-reaching measures that would decentralize the administration of the country. Officials who serve as the equivalent of mayors would be locally elected instead of appointed, as they now are. And the de facto governors of states and divisions would be chosen by local legislatures, not appointed by the president.

These changes would likely be well received by the country's minority groups, which have long advocated a federal system that gives them more autonomy. The government is currently negotiating a national cease-fire with the ethnic groups.