Syrian peace talks kicked off in Switzerland with little hope that it could override clashing stances between key players, the Syrian regime and the opposition, whose presence on the same table for the first time in almost three years resembles the highlight of the conference.
Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem, who heads President Bashar al-Assad's delegation, and Ahmed Jabra, president of the opposition Syrian National Coalition exchanged accusations of treason and terrorism, each holding the other responsible for the violence that has killed more than 130,000 people and displaced millions more.
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2014/01/syria-peace-talks-set-begin-201412244916160757.html