The United Nations said on Monday that Bashar al-Assad's Syrian government and the opposition will hold its first negotiations in Geneva on January 22, 2014 in hopes of finding a political solution to end the nearly three-year civil war, The New York Times reported.
"At long last and for the first time, the Syrian government and opposition will meet at the negotiating table instead of the battlefield," said UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Monday morning.
"I want to express my profound gratitude to the Initiating States, the Governments of the Russian Federation and the United States, other Member States, as well as Joint Special Representative Lakhdar Brahimi for their hard work through many long months, indeed years... This is a mission of hope... "
"The fighting has raged on far too long -- with more than 100,000 dead, almost nine million driven from their homes, countless missing and detained, and terrible violations of human rights," added Ban.
This announcement comes a day after an interim agreement was reached in Geneva by the P5+1 world powers to freeze parts of Iran's nuclear program.
"I would simply say that it was a good weekend for diplomacy," said Martin Nesirky, Ban's spokesman in a press conference to reporters.
The basis for the talks between the Syrian rebels and the Assad government, however, remains unclear, The New York Times also reported.
"Opposition groups have insisted that Assad must leave office as part of any settlement, but government officials have said that Assad will not resign and may even run for re-election next year," news reports said.
Ban urged both sides of the conflict to cease bloodshed.
The Geneva conference intends to provide the "vehicle for a peaceful transition that fulfills the legitimate aspirations of all the Syrian people for freedom and dignity, and which guarantees safety and protection to all communities in Syria," the secretary general said.
Ban also said that a key goal would be the establishment of a transitional government, The Associated Press reported.
Iran has been a staunch support of the Assad government, both helping monetarily and financially.
The Islamic Republic trains Hezbollah to fight alongside Assad in hopes of quelling the rebels. The Russians have helped Assad immenselly, orchestrating the UN Security Council Resolution for the government to give up its chemical weapons. That still remains a dIfficult task.
It is not yet known whether Iran will participate in the talks.
It is also not yet determined whether Saudi Arabia, which expressed consternation by the interim deal reached in Geneva over the weekend, will participate in the talks.
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