Damascus - A delegation from the US Congress arrived in Damascus late Friday for talks with the Syrian officials, a US Embassy spokesman told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.

The congressional delegation, chaired by Democrat Representative Adam Smith, will discuss with Syrian officials US-Syrian relations and security cooperation.

This is the first US delegation to visit the Syrian capital after US president Barack Obama was sworn in on January 20.

Syrian observers expect the visit, and other visits expected to take place in February, aim at breaking the ice between Damascus and Washington.

Smith, who has served for 12 years in the House of Representatives, is joined by other six other Democrat representatives: Gabrielle Giffords (D-Arizona), Ted Poe
(R-Texas), Glenn Nye (D-Virginia), Representative Frank Kratovil (Maryland), Susan Davis (California), and C. A. Ruppersberger (Maryland).

Syria's relations with the US struggled under former president George W. Bush, who frequently accused Damascus of allowing people and weapons across their border into Iraq to fight American troops.

However, since the US change of power, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has shown cautious optimism regarding the US-Syrian relations. (dpa)