Syrian President Bashar al-Assad expressed his willingness to improve bilateral ties with Washington on the occasion of the U.S. independence anniversary.

In his congratulatory message sent to U.S. President Barak Obama, Assad voiced his "heartfelt wishes to Obama and to the friendly American people," amid signs that relations between the two countries are thawing.

Assad said that it was very important for the Obama administration to adopt the principle of dialogue in handling relations between countries, on the basis of mutual respect and benefits, according to Syria's official SANA news agency.

The message followed an interview with Sky News on Thursday in which the Syrian president invited Obama to visit Damascus for talks.

"Any summit between any two presidents is something positive...That doesn't mean you have to agree about everything, but when you discuss, this is how we can close the gap," Assad said.

Asked if this could happen soon, the president simply put, "That depends on him."

There was no official response from the White House so far.

The U.S. decided last month to return an ambassador to Syria after a four-year diplomatic absence. The decision followed a series of recent visits to Damascus by high-level U.S. military and diplomatic delegations.

Washington has not yet given the name of the new ambassador to Syria nor the date of his or her appointment.

Ties between the U.S. and Syria worsened after the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003. Washington first imposed economic sanctions on Syria in 2004 over charges that it was a state sponsor of terrorism. Damascus has denied the accusations.

The relationship between the two countries deteriorated sharply after the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in 2005, a crime that was widely blamed on Syria. Washington recalled its ambassador to Damascus afterwards despite Syria's denial of any involvement.

Source: Xinhua