Syria's interim president said on Tuesday his country had a "historic opportunity" to rebuild, addressing a national dialogue summit billed by Syria's Islamist rulers as a key milestone after decades of Assad-family rule.

Syria’s new rulers have kicked off a long-awaited national dialogue conference as an “exceptional and rare historical opportunity” to rebuild the country after nearly 14 years of cvil war and the fall of former President Bashar Assad.

Although the conference was called to chart the country’s future, the Kurdish-led militia that controls much of Syria’s northeast was not invited.