Syria’s new rulers held a long-awaited national dialogue conference Tuesday, which they touted as as a “rare historical opportunity” to rebuild the country after the fall of former President Bashar Assad and nearly 14 years of civil war,
AP reports.
About 600 people from across Syria were invited to the gathering in the presidential palace in Damascus, hosted by the new authorities led by the Islamist former insurgent group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS. The group led the offensive that ousted Assad in December.
“Just as Syria has liberated itself by itself, it is appropriate for it to build itself by itself,” interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa told the conference.
“What we are experiencing today is an exceptional and rare historical opportunity in which we must use every moment to serve the interests of our people and our nation and honor the sacrifices of its children,” he said.
Syria’s new rulers have promised an inclusive political transition. They will be closely watched by Syrians and the international community, including countries weighing whether to lift sanctions imposed during Assad’s authoritarian rule.
