Eastern Ghouta ceasefire agreed by Syria’s government and opposition

The Syrian opposition and the government have signed a ceasefire agreement over the fighting in the suburbs of Damascus, an pposition spokesperson has said.

Ahmad Ramadan said the agreement was signed on Friday, on the second and last day of a UN-mediated round of peace talks in Vienna.

Numerous rounds of UN-brokered peace talks have been held in Geneva, and the last one concluded in mid-December with no notable progress towards ending the country's war. Talks resumed in Vienna ahead of the Sochi talks on Thursday.

Key players Russia, Iran and Turkey have been sponsoring parallel peace talks since the start of last year.

The Sochi meeting is now part of a broader push by Moscow to start hammering out a path to a political solution to end the war and has sparked concerns that the Kremlin is looking to sideline the UN.  

The Syrian regime has said it would attend the Sochi talks, which are aimed at setting up a new constitution for post-war Syria.

Syria's nearly seven-year war, which began as the regime brutally crushed anti-government protests, has claimed more than 340,000 lives, forced millions to flee their homes and left the country in ruins.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says at least 286 civilians in eastern Ghouta and Damascus have been killed in shelling and airstrikes in the last month because of the fighting.