Minority groups in Syria and some of the neighboring countries are skeptical of the transformation of Syria’s acting president, Ahmed al-Shara, to a moderate nationalist eager to unite the country under his rule from an avowed jihadist. 

Mr. Shara on Tuesday convened a “national dialogue,” calling on hundreds of participants who flocked to Damascus to “stand together in unity.” Yet, a prominent northern Kurdish group, the Syrian Democratic Forces — which for more than a decade allied with America to fight ISIS — was not invited to the meeting. In the south, meanwhile, leaders of another minority, the Druze, were skeptical as well.