Aung San Suu Kyi may visit London after historic visit to Burma by David Cameron "We must always be sceptical and questioning because we want to know those changes are irreversible, but as we have discussed, I think it is right to suspend the sanctions that there are against Burma - to suspend them, not to lift them," he said. A suspension would open the door to a rush for oil, mining and timber resources in the impoverished country, if it is approved at a European Union meeting later this month. The Prime Minister extended the invitation to visit Britain during a tete-a-tete with Ms Suu Kyi, before they were joined by Andy Heyn, the British Ambassador to Myanmar, private secretaries and press advisers, for tea and traditional Burmese sweets. In a small, spartan room in her house, they spoke about how to secure the release of political prisoners, whether sanctions should be suspended and how Britain can help strengthen the country's rule of law. Ms Suu Kyi, who was this year elected to parliament in a landslide electoral victory, backed the Prime Minister's calls for a suspension of sanctions. "This would strengthen the hand of the reformers - not just the suspension but the fact that there is always a possibility of sanctions coming back again if the reforms are not allowed to proceed smoothly," she said. The Nobel Peace Prize Laureate left Britain for Myanmar in 1988 to help nurse her mother but she was held in custody at her house soon afterwards. She refused to leave the country, even when her husband, Michael Aris, an Oxford University academic, was dying in Britain in 1999, because the regime would not have let her back in. Mr Cameron said he was honoured to invite the "inspirational" opposition leader back to see "her beloved Oxford" in the knowledge that she would be able to return home again. After the invitation, Ms Suu Kyi said: "Two years ago, I would have said thank you for the invitation but sorry. Earlier, the Prime Minister held talks with Thein Sein, the president of Myanmar, who has overseen the country's steps towards democracy. Arriving early in the morning , Mr Cameron became the only serving British Prime Minister to set foot in the country since its independence in 1948. Downing Street sources said the Prime Minister is now "cautiously optimistic for the future" of Myanmar as a democracy and believes the president is "sincere in what has happened so far." He is understood to feel that Myanmar is like East Germany looking over the wall into West Germany and realising the future is in democracy. The Prime Minister was hosted for a Western-style lunch at the President's luxurious mock-Georgian gold and cream palace, with a menu of prawn salad, poached salmon, lamp chops and apple tart. On his way to the palace through the capital of Naypyitaw, the Prime Minister's official car and convoy of coaches was soaked with hoses of water as he arrived in the country on the day of the Thingyan water festival of spring. Crowds of waving young people danced to music in the spray, as the cars and buses passed on a route lined by military guards. Sources said the talks at the palace were "formal, but frank," with the president flanked by eight Burmese government ministers in traditional skirts. The meeting only lasted for 40 minutes and was slowed down by consecutive, rather than simultaneous, translation. Their talks focused on Myanmar's desire to have European trade sanctions lifted and how the country would need to improve its governance and reduce ethnic conflicts. They also discussed the President's need to win over the support for reforms of some senior people in his own country, which is still heavily under the influence of the military. Mr Cameron is understood to believe that Burma realises it is stuck in a dead end, after seeing the prosperity capitalism has brought to neighbours such as Indonesia and Malaysia. Afterwards, the two leaders exchanged gifts, with Mr Cameron handing over a glass bowl and receiving a traditional Burmese painting. Later, Mr Cameron was due to have a private dinner with Ms Suu Kyi at the residence of the Mr Heyn, the ambassador. Mr Heyn yesterday wrote of his amazement that Myanmar could have come so far towards ending its international isolation so quickly. "When I arrived here in July 2009, the prospect of such a senior visit was so far-fetched as to be absurd," he said. Campaign groups cautiously welcomed a suspension of sanctions, rather than a call for them to be lifted. Anna Roberts, executive director of the Burma Campaign UK, said: "The suspension of EU sanctions keeps the pressure on the Burmese government to continue reforms, while also making a strong positive gesture that genuine reforms will be rewarded. Despite reforms, Burma is still a country with one of the worst human rights records in the world, and where the military has constitutional control over every level of government. Burma is still a very long way from being a democracy.