The United Nations says a provisional ceasefire in Syria has helped bring some stability to the embattled country, despite a number of violations.
A new round of peace talks is set to begin within days, although sporadic outbreaks of fighting continue.
Almost a week after a temporary ceasefire brokered by Russia and the United States began in Syria, life appears to be returning almost to normal in parts of the country.
This man in the city of Aleppo says the truce means residents can do everyday activities again, such as shopping for food.
(Translated)"People are now able to go out, move, go places and buy things ... potatoes, tomatoes, thank God. Before the ceasefire, no-one could do that. Thank God, now everyone is back, they are buying food, and the roads are much better. Prices are also good. For example, tomatoes would sell for 350 (liras). Now they sell for 150 or 170 (liras)."
The halt in fighting began last Saturday but did not include groups such as the self-proclaimed Islamic State or the al-Qaeda-linked al-Nusra Front.
Many had expressed scepticism over the holding power of the truce.
But United Nations Syrian envoy Staffan de Mistura says, although several incidents have broken out across the country, the ceasefire has generally been successful.
"The level of violence in the country has been greatly reduced. Ask the Syrian people. Many of our colleagues have done so. In general, the cessation has been holding. This is good news for many Syrian people. Unfortunately, we have to admit, like in every cessation of hostilities or ceasefire, and, in particular, in this one, there are still a number of places where fighting has continued, including parts of Hama, Homs, Latakia and Damascus. But they've been contained. The situation, therefore, could be summarised as fragile. Success is not guaranteed, but progress has been visible. Ask the Syrians."
Syria has now been wracked by war for five years, with around half a million people stuck in besieged areas.
Thousands of Syrians have fled its borders, many seeking refuge in Europe.
The United Nations recently tried to airdrop 21 tonnes of aid to 200,000 people in the eastern city of Deir al-Zor.
It comes as humanitarian organisations warn living conditions in Syria continue to deteriorate.
The humanitarian adviser to the United Nations, Jan Egeland, says, already, there has been a huge improvement in access to regions in dire need of help.
"Yes, compared to what was achieved last year, there is progress. In the first three months of last year, zero trucks reached any of the besieged areas in Syria. In the last three weeks, 236 trucks have served 115,000 people. Many of these have received several convoys, like in the town of Mouadamiya that got four convoys, or three convoys plus another few trucks, yesterday. This was a place that had nothing for one and a half years before that time."
The ultimate goal of the truce is to kick-start peace negotiations between Syria's government and opposition parties.
The next round is scheduled to begin on Wednesday next week, two days later than originally planned.
Syria was also the main topic of discussion at a joint French-British summit in northern France.
The leaders there showed a united front ahead of a conference call with Russian president Vladimir Putin and German chancellor Angela Merkel.
British prime minister David Cameron and French president Francois Hollande urged Russia and Syria to stop attacking Western-backed rebels, a clear violation of the armistice.
Mr Cameron has told reporters that is the only way the ceasefire can have a lasting impact.
"We welcome the latest truce. It could provide an opportunity to make progress at next week's peace talks, but these will only succeed if there's a change of behaviour by the Syrian regime and by its backers. That is why, tomorrow, Francois and I, together with Chancellor Merkel, will speak with President Putin. Russia needs to end its attacks on Syrian civilians and the moderate opposition and accept that there has to be a transition away from Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, to a new leader who can reunite Syria and bring peace and stability to that country."
Russia has been providing military backing to the Syrian government since the end of September last year.
