The Syrian government and opposition leaders are holding face-to-face talks for the first time at the U.N.-backed peace conference in Geneva. This weekend’s sessions focused on humanitarian gestures after initially facing potential collapse. U.N. envoy Lakhdar Brahimi said the Syrian government has agreed to let women and children leave the besieged city of Homs, and study a list of prisoners sought for release.

Lakhdar Brahimi: “Hopefully, starting tomorrow, women and children will be able to leave central — the old city in Homs. And I hope that the rest of the civilians will be able to leave soon after that. The government has asked the opposition to give them a list of the people that are in detention in the hands of the various armed groups, and the opposition have agreed that they will try and collect the lists that have been asked from those organizations they have authority over or contacts with.”

Homs has been under government siege for the past 18 months, and hundreds of civilians are in need of aid.