BEIRUT (AP) — The latest developments on Syria following two-day talks in Kazakhstan between the Damascus government and rebel factions (all times local):

2:50 p.m.

Syria's government says Russia- and Turkey-led talks in Kazakhstan have succeeded in consolidating a nearly month-long cease-fire in the war- ravaged country.

Bashar al-Ja'afari, Syria's U.N. ambassador who headed the government delegation to the talks in Astana, says the government has done all it can to "remove obstacles" facing the gathering.

He told reporters at a press conference on Tuesday that the talks succeeded in consolidating the cease-fire for "a specific period of time." He did not elaborate.

He added that this paves the way for more dialogue among Syrians in the future.

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2:15 p.m.

Syria talks in Kazakhstan between the Damascus government and rebel factions have concluded with Russia, Turkey and Iran striking a deal on a three-way mechanism to consolidate the country's nearly month-old cease-fire.

Kazakhstan's foreign minister, Kairat Abdrakhmanov, read out a statement on Tuesday, at the end of the two-day meeting, saying the three countries will use their "influence" to strengthen the truce, without specifying how that would work.

The statement says the three nations will continue their joint efforts in fighting the Islamic State group and the al-Qaida affiliate in Syria.

It also calls for Syria's rebels to separate from the al-Qaida-linked group known as Fatah al-Sham.

The statement adds that agreement in Astana paves the way for political talks to be held in Geneva on Feb. 8.

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12:55 p.m.

U.N. agencies are appealing for more than $8 billion in funding this year to help millions of people displaced inside Syria by the war or forced to flee abroad.

The U.N. refugee agency is seeking $4.63 billion in new funding to help at least 4.8 million people who have escaped abroad, mainly to Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Turkey.

Stephen O'Brien, the head of the Office for the Coordination for Humanitarian Affairs, said at a Syria aid meeting in Finland that the U.N. is seeking "on the order" of $3.4 billion this year for an estimated 13.5 million internally displaced people.

O'Brien says that he fears Syria's war — already longer than World War II was — "will get worse."

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12:10 p.m.

Turkey's deputy prime minister is dismissing speculation that Turkey would hand over the northern Syrian town of al-Bab to Syrian President Bashar Assad's administration after it routs Islamic State militants from there.

Numan Kurtulmus told the state-run Anadolu Agency on Tuesday that Turkey launched its military push in northern Syria for its own security and to protect its border of terror threats.

He spoke as Turkey- and Russia-backed talks on shoring up Syria's cease-fire were underway in Kazakhstan.

Kurtulmus says that "al-Bab is not an operation that was launched to clear it and to hand it over to the regime" of Assad.

Turkey sent troops and tanks into Syria in August to back Syrian opposition fighters drive out IS militants from a border area. The IS-held of al-Bab has been under siege since December.

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11:55 a.m.

Finland's prime minister has made a strong global appeal for help for those affected by the "devastating" war in Syria, warning that it has resulted in millions of refugees and displaced, causing "population movements of great magnitude not seen since" World War II.

Juha Sipila spoke at the opening of a Syria aid conference in Finland's capital, Helsinki, on Tuesday.

He says that after six years of the conflict, the humanitarian crisis is Syria "is worse than ever before," with 13.5 million people needing assistance.

The conference coincides with Syrian peace talks in Kazakhstan and is aimed at providing humanitarian priorities for Syria in 2017 and launching a regional refugee plan. It is being attended by U.N. organizations, aid agencies, government representatives from Syria's neighboring countries and donors from civil societies and the private sector.

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11:35 a.m.

Turkey's state-run news agency says that Turkey, Russia and Iran have reached an agreement on a three-way mechanism to monitor and enforce a cease-fire in Syria.

The announcement is the first sign of progress during the second day of talks underway in Astana, Kazakhstan, between the Syrian government and rebel factions.

The Anadolu Agency said on Tuesday that the mechanism would allow the three countries to respond immediately to reports on breaches of the cease-fire by using "their influence" to end attacks. The report out of Astana was based on unnamed sources.

Anadolu says the agreement is part of an article of a planned joint declaration to be released later in the day. The agency said however, that the final declaration was still being worked out.

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9:15 a.m.

Syria talks between the Damascus government and rebel factions are underway in Kazakhstan for a second day, following a rocky start that saw harsh exchanges between the warring sides.

The talks are focused on shoring up a cease-fire in place since Dec. 30 and are to be followed by more negotiations in Geneva next month.

U.N. envoy Staffan de Mistura, who is mediating the talks, promised as he entered the venue at the Rixos Hotel in Astana there will be an "outcome" later on Tuesday.

Syrian rebel spokesman Osama Abo Zayd says his side will communicate with the government delegation through intermediaries, not directly.

The rebels have pinned their hopes on Russia and Turkey, which brokered the cease-fire, but Abu Zayd says they "are waiting for something more than statements."