Syria's state news agency says the government and the U.N. special envoy have agreed to send a fact-finding mission to the contested northern city of Aleppo.

SANA said late Saturday the decision was made after talks in Damascus between Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem and U.N. envoy Staffan de Mistura. It did not say when the U.N. team would begin its work in Aleppo.