Summarize this content to 2000 words in 6 paragraphs Syria’s interim president called on Tuesday for unity and the rebuilding of his fractured nation during a two-day conference meant to chart a path forward after decades of dictatorship.Hundreds of participants attended the long-awaited “national dialogue” to bring together the country’s many religions and sects in the Syrian capital, Damascus, on Monday and Tuesday. But at least one major player was absent: The Kurdish-led militia that controls much of Syria’s northeast was not invited.“Syria calls on you to stand together in unity and cooperation to heal its wounds, soothe its pain and support its recovery,” the president, Ahmed al-Shara, said in an address to conference participants.What is the national dialogue?Arab and Western leaders have urged Syria’s new rulers establish a representative government that is inclusive of all religious sects and ethnic groups before they can fully restore ties with Syria.Mr. al-Shara, whose rebel coalition overthrew the longtime dictator Bashar al-Assad and seized control of Syria in early December, had promised to hold a national dialogue to discuss the formation of such a government.Syrian leaders have promoted the conference as the first step to drafting a new constitution for the country, which is likely to be a long-winded process that Mr. al-Shara has said could take as long as three years.While the conference was long awaited — especially since the government had set a March 1 deadline to begin the process of forming a representative government — it was hastily arranged.Invitations for the conference were sent out on Feb. 23, just one day before it began, to hundred of participants, including community leaders, academics and religious figures.Journalists, businessmen, activists, former detainees and some of the families of those who were killed or wounded in Syria’s 13-year civil war were also invited.What about the Kurds?Mr. al-Shara has spoken of the need to unite Syria’s many diverse groups to build a new nation. Syria is a Sunni-Muslim majority country, but has many religious and ethnic minorities including Alawites, Druse, Christians and Kurds.Many in Syria, however, remain skeptical of the country’s new Islamist leaders, with some criticizing the lack of minority representation at the conference.Attempts to unify all of these communities have already met significant challenges.Some Kurds, who make up some 10 percent of Syria’s population, were invited to the national dialogue. But the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, a U.S.-backed militia that controls much of Syria’s northeast, was not. Syria’s interim government has demanded that the militia disarm, and join a unified national military force, as a condition of joining the dialogue.At the conference on Tuesday, Mr. al-Shara reaffirmed the need to bring the country’s web of armed groups under state control.“There are those who seek to undermine the achievements of the Syrian people, and we must firmly confront anyone who attempts to tamper with our security and unity,” he said, without naming any particular group.The committee organizing the conference has previously said that the Syrian Democratic Forces do not represent all Syrian Kurds.Turkey, a close ally of Mr. al-Shara’s rebel group, has for years sought to curb the power of the Syrian Democratic Forces, maintaining that the militia is linked to Kurdish separatist insurgents inside Turkey.What will come of the dialogue?Many Syrians are skeptical about what a national dialogue may bring, especially in a deeply divided country where sectarian tensions are already spilling over into revenge killings.Syrians are also wary of the promises of inclusivity coming from a government led by Mr. al-Shara’s Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, which has given government and ministerial positions to its own loyalists. It has yet to include other rebel groups, which helped oust Mr. Assad, in the government.The conference organizers have said that there is no direct link between the formation of the new Syrian government and the dialogue, though they are happening at the same time.Conference participants are expected to issue recommendations on the new government, as well as on the writing of a new constitution and laws. But it appears those recommendations will be nonbinding.“Recommendations from the National Dialogue will not be mere advice and formalities, but will be the basis for the provisional constitutional declaration, economic identity, and institutional reform plan,” said Hassan al- Dughaim, the committee’s spokesman.
