“We would like to welcome him in Syria, definitely. I am very clear about this,” Assad told Sky News.

Asked whether this could happen soon, the president said: “That depends on him.

“I will ask you to convey the invitation to him,” he told the news channel in the brief interview broadcast Thursday.

Assad’s outreach comes as Washington tries to engage with its former foe after President George W. Bush froze relations with Damascus following the assassination of former Lebanese prime minister Rafiq Hariri in 2005.

Asked by Sky News if such a meeting could herald a new era of cooperation in the region, Assad said it could, if peace could be secured.

“It’s normal to have differences between different cultures, between different nations and states. But I think the United States has a special role as the greatest power,” Assad said.

He said that “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.”

The Syrian president conceded that a meeting with his US counterpart would be only the first step in a rapprochement.

“A big change comes when you make actions. An invitation is about dialogue, dialogue is about having common ground, a common vision. Then you have to make a plan then, later, you take action,” he said.

The Syrian president also said he was in favour “as a principle” of renewing indirect talks with Israel.

Assad’s comments came after the Obama administration said Wednesday it would send an ambassador back to Syria after a four-year absence.

In another sign of the detente, Obama last month sent his Middle East envoy George Mitchell to Syria to hold talks with Assad.