UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has urged for implementing a ceasefire before the start of the second round of peace talks expected in Geneva.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has urged for implementing a ceasefire before the start of the second round of peace talks expected in Geneva.

"Fighting in Syria must cease before political negotiations on a transitional government to restore peace to the war-ravaged country can commence," Ban told reporters in New York on Monday.

"We must have a cessation of hostilities before we begin political dialogue on Syria in Geneva," Ban said, adding, "This fighting must stop."

Representatives of the Syrian government and the opposition are scheduled to meet with United Nations-Arab League peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi in Switzerland on Jan. 22 to discuss ways of ending nearly 3-year-old conflict.

Syria has been gripped by deadly unrest since 2011. According to reports, the Western powers and their regional allies -- especially Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey -- are supporting the militants operating inside the country.

The Syrian national military launched a wide-scale military operation in May 2013 in the country's main provinces to restore security and release citizens from terrorist threats.

Syria was hit by a violent unrest since mid-March 2011, where the Syrian government accuses foreign actors, mainly the Saudi Arabia and Turkey, of orchestrating the conflict by supporting the militant opposition groups with arms and money.