International mediator Lakhdar Brahimi has said the Syrian government has agreed to a ceasefire during the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha, a decision Damascus would announce shortly.
“After the visit I made to Damascus, there is agreement from the Syrian government for a ceasefire during the Eid,” Brahimi told a news conference at the Cairo-based Arab League on Wednesday.
The holiday starts on Thursday and lasts three or four days.
Brahimi, a mediator appointed by the United Nations and League, did not specify the precise time period.
Brahimi, who arrived in Cairo on Tuesday, is due to meet with the head of the Arab League Nabil al-Arabi for talks on the 20-month conflict.
The envoy wanted “a long-lasting ceasefire that will enable a political process to unfold”.
The 15-member Security Council is bitterly divided over the conflict with Western nations pressing for international actions against the regime of President Bashar al-Assad and Russia and China blocking these moves.
UN peacekeeping chief Herve Ladsous spoke on Monday of tentative plans top assemble a peacekeeping force if the ceasefire takes hold.
“We are getting ourselves ready to act if it is necessary and a mandate is approved,” Ladsous said..
The Syrian authorities “are still optimistic,” deputy foreign minister Faisal Muqdad said. “The visit was successful and [Syria’s] co-operation with Brahimi is without limits.”
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