Swiss President Didier Burkhalter (L) shakes hands with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon during a meeting prior to peace talks in Montreux January 22, 2014. [Photo/Agencies]

CLASHES

As speeches began in Montreux, the war went on in Syria.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group reported clashes and air strikes around the country. Around Damascus, government artillery hit villages and rebels clashes with the army in the neighbourhood of Jobar on the northeast fringe of the capital, it said. Activists also reported clashes and in the central city of Hama, the southern province of Deraa - where the revolt began - and the northern city of Aleppo.

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French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said on arrival: "The real conference begins in two days. If it fails it will be a real crisis."

Suhair Attassi, a member of the opposition National Coalition, said in Montreux that Moualem's refusal to accept Assad should go meant it would be up to his Russian ally to press him to accept the international demand for a transition.

"Now there is the responsibility on Russia to put pressure on Assad," he said. "The transition for us is the essential point. We aren't here just to talk humanitarian aid. We need a democratic transition."

The release on the eve of the talks of thousands of photographs apparently showing prisoners tortured and killed by the government reinforced opposition demands that Assad must quit and face a war crimes trial. The president, who succeeded his father 14 years ago, insists he can win re-election and wants to talk about fighting "terrorism."

Assad has been protected by Russia, his main arms supplier, which dislikes Western attempts to overthrow incumbent leaders.

But Washington and Moscow share alarm at the spread of the violence that has already killed more than 130,000 Syrians. Having set aside their differences last year to co-sponsor the talks that are finally getting under way, Russia and the United States profess an urgent common goal of halting the bloodshed.

"It is hard to have expectations at the back of all this," said a source at the talks who has advised the opposition. "But Moscow and Washington are genuine on ending the conflict. They are sincere and this meeting is not for show."

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