UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon thanked Kuwait and His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah for hosting Syria aid pledging conference and the generous aid pledges and humanitarian role they play in the Syrian crisis. "I extremely grateful to the commitments made at the humanitarian aid pledging conference in Kuwait last week," Ban said at the opening session of Geneva II Conference for Syria Peace. "I thank His Highness Amir of Kuwait for his visionary humanitarian support, " he said. Kuwait hosted the second Syria aid pledging conference on January 15, which raised over USD 2.4 billion in aid pledges to Syrian people, including USD 500 million from Kuwait. The UN chief also urged the Syrian government, the opposition, and representatives of some 40 other countries and regional organization to seize the historic opportunity to end the bloodshed. "After nearly three painful years of conflict and suffering in Syria, today is a day of fragile but real hope," he said "For the first time, the Syrian Government and the Syria opposition, countries of the region, and the wider international community are convening to seek a political solution to the death, destruction and displacement that is the dire reality of life in Syria today. "All Syrians, and all in the region affected by this crisis, are looking to you gathered here to end the unspeakable human suffering, to save Syria's rich societal mosaic, and to embark on a meaningful political process to achieve a Syrian-led transition." Today's meeting, designed to give international support to the efforts to resolve the deadly conflict that has torn Syria apart, will be followed on Friday by talks between the Syrian parties at UN headquarters in Geneva in what will be the first time that the Government and opposition meet at a negotiating table since the conflict started in March 2011. The basis of the talks is full implementation of an action plan adopted in the so-called Geneva Communiqu{ of 2012, adopted at the first international conference on the conflict, and which calls for a transitional government to lead to free and fair elections. But participants will also seek to make arrangements for humanitarian aid to flow into a country where well over 100,000 people have been killed and nearly 9 million others driven from their homes since the conflict erupted between the Government and various groups seeking the ouster of President Bashar al-Assad. "You have an enormous opportunity and responsibility to render historic service to the Syrian people," Mr. Ban said, specifically addressing the Syrian Government and opposition delegations. "It is the most profound of tragedies that peaceful protests in Syria, calling for change, turned into a bloody civil war. If the Government leaders had listened more attentively and humbly to the concerns expressed by the people, this conference might not have been necessary. The disaster is now all-encompassing." He listed a litany of the war's horrendous consequences - towns rendered unliveable by constant aerial bombardments; schools, hospitals, markets, homes and places of worship destroyed; car bombs, suicide and mortar attacks terrifying civilians; foreign fighters and radical groups imposing their own "destructive and dangerous" vision; over 6.5 million people internally displaced and over 2.3 million others, half of them children, fleeing to neighbouring countries. Stressing that more than 9.3 million people within the country need humanitarian aid, over 2.5 million of them living in areas where access is seriously constrained or non-existent, Mr. Ban called on the Government and the opposition to allow immediate and full access to all those in need, particularly in besieged areas. "Hundreds of thousands of people have been cut off from any assistance for months, with disturbing reports of malnutrition and desperate health conditions," he said. "Food and medical and surgical equipment must be allowed in; the sick and wounded people must be allowed out." He stressed that the Syrians themselves have the primary responsibility to end the conflict, determine their political system and future, and start rebuilding their country, while the duty of all members of the international community, whether present at today's conference or not, is to do everything within their power to help them achieve these goals. The Geneva Communique sets out a number of key steps for a Syrian-led transition, starting with the establishment of a transitional governing body with full executive powers and providing for the restoration of public services and full observance of human rights, he noted. "Great challenges lie ahead but they are not insurmountable," he concluded. "How many more will die in Syria, lose their loved ones, be maimed for life or lose their homes if this opportunity is lost? There is no alternative to ending the violence and a political solution. That is why we are here. "Let us prove to all that the world is able to unite and support the people of Syria as they embark on the path towards a peaceful, democratic and stable Syria."