Brahimi: Syrian gov't poised to agree to ceasefire during Eid

UN and Arab League envoy Lakhdar Brahimi announced today that the Syrian government has agreed to a ceasefire during Eid al-Adha and that it would either today or tomorrow issue an official statement in that regard. Brahimi was speaking at a joint press conference at the Arab League headquarters here with the League's secretary general Nabil al-Arabi and former US president Jimmy Carter, head of the Carter Center for Peace. "We have been able to get in contact with leaders of fighting groups in Syria, most of whom expressed a fundamental acceptance for the notion of a ceasefire during Eid al-Adha," said Brahimi. He added that if the ceasefire idea catches on, he would be able subsequently to build on it, hoping meanwhile that such a truce would last long enough to give him time to achieve something concrete and beneficial to all.