By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
BEIRUT, Lebanon (AP) — Syria’s president sent a Fourth of July message full of praise to President Obama on Friday and invited him to visit Syria. These were the latest signs that Syria is hedging its bets in the politics of the Middle East, warming up to the United States at a time when Syria’s longtime ally Iran is in turmoil.
The United States and its Arab allies have been hoping to pull Syria away from its alliances with Iran and Islamic militant groups in the region.
Syria seems unlikely to take such a dramatic step, but it does appear worried about Iran’s reliability and the long-term impact of postelection unrest in the country. Also, Hezbollah, a militant organization supported by Iran, suffered a setback when its coalition failed to win parliamentary elections in Lebanon last month; it was defeated by a pro-Western coalition.
President Bashar al-Assad of Syria has been expressing hopes for better ties with the United States for months. But the latest developments may make dialogue look more likely.
Mr. Assad sent a telegram to Mr. Obama on the occasion of Independence Day, saying, “The values that were adopted by President Obama during his election campaign and after he was elected president are values that the world needs today.”
According to the state-run news agency, SANA, the telegram said: “It is very important to adopt the principle of dialogue in relations with countries based on respect and mutual interest.”
In an interview with Britain’s Sky News, Mr. Assad invited Obama to visit Damascus to discuss Middle East peace.
“We would like to welcome him in Syria, definitely; I am very clear about this,” Mr. Assad said in English.
Asked whether such a visit could take place soon, Mr. Assad said: “That depends on him.”
He added with a smile, “I will ask you to convey the invitation to him.” President Bill Clinton was the last American chief executive to visit Syria, in 1994.
The longstanding tensions between the United States and Syria have contributed to instability in Lebanon. The United States and Israel have also said that Syria’s backing of Hamas, the militant Palestinian organization, has undermined the Arab-Israeli peace process.
If the United States can draw Syria even somewhat away from Iran and the militant groups allied with it, that would represent a major shift and could help ease tensions in the Middle East.
The Obama administration has been wooing Syria. The administration is sending an American ambassador to Damascus after a four-year break caused by accusations of Syrian involvement in terrorism. Mr. Obama’s Middle East envoy, George Mitchell, became the highest-level American official to visit Damascus since 2005, and he acknowledged Syria’s significance, saying that it had a central role to play in forging a Mideast peace.
In a separate interview with Sky News, Mr. Assad’s wife, Asma, said she believed that the Syrian and American leaders could work together.
“The fact that President Obama is young — well, President Assad is also very young as well — so maybe it is time for these young new leaders to make a difference in the world,” she said.
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