Bitter exchanges as Syria peace talks open

MONTREUX, Jan 22 (AFP): World powers urged Syria's warring sides to seize a "historic" opportunity as they gathered in Switzerland Wednesday for a peace conference that kicked off with bitter exchanges.

There were few early signs of compromise as the most serious bid yet to end three years of bloodshed began, with Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem dubbing the opposition "traitors" and foreign agents.

UN leader Ban Ki-moon had opened the conference with a plea for both sides to set aside their differences in order to save lives.

"After nearly three painful years of conflict and suffering in Syria, today is a day of hope," Ban said. "You have an enormous opportunity and responsiblity to render a service to the people of Syria."

Meeting for the first time since the start of the conflict in March 2011, the two sides could not be further apart at the "Geneva II" conference in Montreux on the shores of Lake Geneva.

The opposition heads into the conference with a sole aim-toppling President Bashar al-Assad-while the regime says any talk of removing the Syrian leader is a "red line" it will not cross.

Muallem wasted no time firing a broadside at the opposition in his opening speech, which went on long beyond the allotted time of less than 10 minutes, forcing Ban to repeatedly ask the foreign minister to stop.