By Dmitry Zhdannikov
DAVOS, Switzerland, Jan 22 (Reuters) - Iranian PresidentHassan Rouhani said on Wednesday it was possible to turn morethan three decades of enmity with the United States intofriendship if both sides made an effort.
He was speaking in a Swiss television interview afterarriving at the World Economic Forum in Davos where he willcourt the global business community and meet a series of oilcompany executives on Thursday.
Asked whether there could one day be a U.S. embassy again inTehran instead of the Swiss embassy representing U.S. interestsin Iran, the president told public RTS television: "No animosity lasts eternally, no friendship either lastseternally. So we have to transform animosities into friendship."
An interim deal with six major powers including the UnitedStates to restrict Iran's disputed nuclear programme in exchangefor a partial easing of economic sanctions entered into forcethis week.
Rouhani travelled to Davos to persuade foreign investors toreturn to his country, which has some of the world's biggest oiland gas resources and a market of 76 million people.
In the interview, in which he spoke in Farsi voiced overinto French, he said relations with Washington had beendifficult in the past but with hard work and efforts by bothsides, problems could be overcome.
"This effort is necessary to create confidence on bothsides. Iran is in fact stretching out its hand in peace andfriendship to all countries of the world and wants friendly,good relations with all countries in the world," the presidentsaid.
SCEPTICAL ON SYRIA
He made no mention of the more difficult negotiations thatlie ahead to conclude a permanent agreement on Iran's nuclearprogramme, which the West believes is aimed at developing weapons.
However, he poured cold water on a U.N.-sponsored peaceconference on the civil war in Syria, which opened in Montreux,Switzerland on Wednesday in the absence of Iran, a key ally ofDamascus, which was excluded after refusing to endorse the goalof a transition from President Bashar al-Assad's rule.
"Reaching a conclusion will be very difficult but my wish isthat if all efforts go in the direction of the wishes of theSyrian people, that is the direction that should prevail."
"As to whether this conference can achieve its objectives, Ihave a lot of doubt," he added. Rouhani accused Saudi Arabia andQatar of backing "terrorists" in Syria in an effort to extendtheir own influence in the Middle East.
Rouhani will give a short speech on Thursday to chiefexecutives from oil majors such as Eni, BP,Total and Shell, according to severalexecutives who meet in Davos.
Heads of U.S. companies such as Exxon Mobil could alsoattend, the executives said.
Tehran wants Western oil companies to revive its giantageing oilfields and develop new oil and gas fields oncesanctions are lifted and is improving its oil investmentcontract in order to lure them in.
The major OPEC producer has started implementing a nucleardeal with world powers, a step towards a broad settlement whichcould lead to the end of sanctions.
Western sanctions imposed over the nuclear programme havechoked Tehran's production - output is down a million barrelsper day (bpd) since the start of 2012 to 2.7 million bpd -costing billions in lost revenue.
Top Iranian officials say the country can raise productionto 4 million bpd within six months of sanctions being lifted.Western experts are more conservative, saying 3 million to 3.5million bpd is more likely.
Encouraged by the preliminary nuclear deal struck betweenIran and Western powers in November, Tehran and Big Oil havewasted no time making contact, in the hope of a full lifting ofsanctions.
Paolo Scaroni of Italy's Eni was the first Western CEO tomeet publicly with Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh, on thesidelines of a meeting of the Organization of the PetroleumExporting Countries last month.