CAIRO, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- Egypt has worked with Russia to broker an agreement to create a "de-escalation zone" in the northern Homs countryside in war-torn Syria, official MENA news agency reported.
The ceasefire deal is to take effect on Thursday between the Syrian government forces and armed rebels in Homs province.
On the other hand, Russia's military spokesman said in Moscow that the two warring parties reached the agreement after earlier talks in Cairo on July 31.
Egypt successfully brokered an earlier deal to de-escalate conflict in Eastern Ghouta region in Damascus, according to MENA.
The northern parts of Homs province have recently been hit by several sporadic airstrikes from the Syrian regime forces.
The Egyptian leadership has always expressed support for a political settlement for the Syrian crisis in a way that ends bloodshed in Syria and maintains the unity of its territories.
Since its eruption in March 2011, the Syrian crisis has claimed the lives of about half a million people and displaced and wounded over 14 million.
Russian troops in Syria have been launching bombing raids in support of the government forces, while a U.S.-led international anti-terror coalition has been launching airstrikes against Islamic State (IS) targets in the conflict-stricken country.
Latest UN-sponsored peace talks in Astana of Kazakhstan failed to reach an agreement between the administration of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, mainly backed by Russia and Iran, and the exiled opposition.
