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

Hundreds of Syrians gathered at the presidential palace in Damascus for the one-day event, arriving on a red carpet previously reserved for the foreign dignitaries visiting former president Bashar al-Assad until he was toppled last year by a rebel offensive spearheaded by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).

The group's head, Ahmed al-Sharaa, was named by military rebel commanders as the country's interim president last month and he swiftly pledged to hold a national dialogue to discuss the country's future.

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"Syria liberated itself on its own, and it suits it to build itself on its own," he said in his opening address on Tuesday.

"What we are living today is an exceptional, historic and rare opportunity. We must take advantage of every moment of it to serve the interests of our people and our country," he said.

Sharaa stressed that Syria must unify the various armed groups under a single military command, saying the country's "strength lies in its unity."

Participants divided into six working groups to discuss a transitional justice system; the constitution; building state institutions; personal freedoms; Syria's future economic model and the role civil society would have in the country.

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The discussions were confidential, with a moderator allocating two minutes to participants to speak and restrictions on removing any documents from the summit hall.

Organizers say the recommendations set to be agreed by the end of the day will help shape a constitutional declaration intended to lay out the basic principles for Syria's new governing order. They will be considered by a new transitional government that is set to take power on March 1.

Speaking after Sharaa, Syria's Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani criticized international sanctions still in place, saying they were being used "as a means of pressure on the will of the Syrian people."

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To put together the event, a seven-member preparatory committee hosted listening sessions organized by province, sometimes holding several two-hour sessions a day to fit in all of Syria's 14 regions over the course of a week.