In jeans and a T-shirt, Asma al Assad among her people. She’s the London girl who married the President. 
“She has the same name as my daughter.”

　　Down to earth and relaxed in crowds of young admirers. The dynamic first lady of a country that’s changing. In an exclusive interview, she told Sky News Syria and America could be on the verge of soaring relations.

　　“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.”

　　“Can you see yourself hosting Michelle Obama and her husband at the one of the palaces here in the near future?”

　　“I can see myself hosting them in Damascus, in the old town, meeting with people, getting a sense of how we live, who we are and what Syria is about.”

　　We join the first lady promoting her greatest passion, a movement for Syria’s youth and watching some of them debating. Afterwards, we asked them about America’s young President.

　　“Do you like Barack Obama?”

　　“Yes.”

　　“Would you like to see him come here?”

　　“Oh, yes.”

　　It’s time for us to change. It’s time for us to open up to the whole world in order to let them see us as the real us.”

　　America wants to pull Syria away from his alliance with Iran, sending its first ambassador here in four years.

　　“Is this a sign that Syria is opening up?”

　　“It’s already opened, Dominic. You should know this. You've been here before.”

　　“Well, it seems very much as having sanctions imposed because it is not opened up enough, not engaged enough.”

　　“We don’t impose the sanctions. So we are opened and we wanna open even more. It’s, er, we were never closed.”

　　America says Syria is integral to its Middle-East policy. Tensions are easing but much more diplomacy's required before this first lady is hosting her US counterpart any time soon.

　　Dominic Waghorn, Sky News, Damascus