"We always wish for and seek good relations with the United States," Expatriates Minister Buthaina Shaaban told a news conference at the ruling Baath Party congress which is due to focus on reform. Shaaban said Syria was pressing ahead with reform based on the country's needs "that are not related to what others try to threaten (Syria) with". The congress is expected to approve democratic reforms that Shaaban said might include improving press freedoms and allowing some political pluralism. Ties between Syria and the United States hit their worst level after the US-led war in Iraq which Damascus opposed. Last year, Washington imposed unilateral economic sanctions against Damascus for failing to prevent insurgents from crossing into Iraq, backing anti-Israel militants and maintaining a military presence in Lebanon for almost three decades.