UN envoy and Syrian government agree to send fact-finding mission to Aleppo

FILE - In this Nov. 10, 2014, file photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, Syrian President Bashar Assad, right, speaks with United Nations envoy to Syria Staffan de Mistura in Damascus, Syria. De Mistura is sending a mission to the contested city of Aleppo, Syria, to determine the situation on the ground and help ensure that humanitarian aid can reach civilians in need if a local truce is reached, the U.N. said Sunday, March 1, 2015. De Mistura, is in Damascus for talks with Syrian officials to try to arrange a "freeze" in fighting in Aleppo, which has been divided into government- and rebel-held districts since mid-2012. (AP Photo/SANA, File) (The Associated Press)

FILE - In this Nov. 10, 2014 file photo, released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, United Nations envoy to Syria Staffan de Mistura, left, speaks with Syrian President Bashar Assad in Damascus, Syria. De Mistura is sending a mission to the contested city of Aleppo, Syria, to determine the situation on the ground and help ensure that humanitarian aid can reach civilians in need if a local truce is reached, the U.N. said Sunday, March 1, 2015. De Mistura, is in Damascus for talks with Syrian officials to try to arrange a "freeze" in fighting in Aleppo, which has been divided into government- and rebel-held districts since mid-2012. (AP Photo/SANA, File) (The Associated Press)

DAMASCUS, Syria – Syria's state news agency says the government and the U.N. special envoy have agreed to send a fact-finding mission to the contested northern city of Aleppo.

SANA said late Saturday the decision was made after talks in Damascus between Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem and U.N. envoy Staffan de Mistura. It did not say when the U.N. team would begin its work in Aleppo.

De Mistura is trying to implement a "freeze" in fighting in the city, which is divided into government- and rebel-held areas. He envisions a local truce as the first step toward a wider easing of hostilities.

The Syrian government has agreed to suspend airstrikes and artillery shelling in Aleppo for six weeks. The U.N. envoy still needs the armed opposition's support for the plan.