A long-awaited national dialogue conference intended to help chart Syria’s political future after the fall of former President Bashar Assad is set to begin.

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.

DAMASCUS/SWEIDA, Syria (Reuters) - Hundreds of Syrians will gather in Damascus on Tuesday for a one-day national dialogue conference, billed by the country's Islamist rulers as a key milestone in the transition to a new political system after decades of Assad rule.

Syria's leader Ahmad Al Shara said on Tuesday that the country must unite around a state that has a “monopoly” of weapons and warned minority groups against accepting “suspicious calls” to scare them away from the new order.

Syria's new authorities will hold a national dialogue conference starting on February 25 to discuss a new path for the nation after the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad in December, two members of its preparatory committee said on Sunday.

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Participants from across Syria gathered on Tuesday to commence the much-anticipated Syrian National Dialogue Conference despite lacking representation from the Kurdish-held northeast.

A spokesperson for the committee preparing a national dialogue conference in Syria to help chart the country’s future says that it has not been decided whether the conference will take place before or after a new government is formed.

Syria's new authorities will hold a national dialogue conference starting on February 25 to discuss the country's future, two members of its preparatory committee said on Sunday. The committee's seven members consulted with some 4,

A national dialogue conference aimed at shaping Syria's political future post-Bashar Assad begins. Featuring sessions on transitional justice, a new constitution, and personal freedoms, it aims to recommend non-binding outcomes.

A Kurdish National Council (ENKS/KNC) representative on Monday said that its members have declined an invitation to attend the Syrian National Dialogue Congress, saying the event is poorly structured and excludes Kurdish political representation.