Syria has agreed to an Arab observer mission to monitor a deal to end nine months of bloodshed, ending weeks of prevarication that had prompted the Arab League to adopt sanctions.
Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal al-Maqdad and Arab League Assistant Secretary General Ahmed Ben Helli signed the document at League headquarters in Cairo.
Speaking at a news conference in Damascus, foreign minister Walid Muallem said the government had agreed to the protocol "because we want a political solution in Syria, and because we want to find a solution with Arab League help".
"Signing the protocol is the start of cooperation with the Arab League and we will welcome the observers' mission from the Arab League," he said.
"Sovereignty is protected in the text of the protocol," he added.
Arab League chief Nabil al-Arabi said that an advance team of observers would head to Damascus within 72 hours.
"Within two or three days, an advance team of observers headed by Arab League Assistant Secretary General Samir Seif al-Yazal, including security, legal and administrative observers, will be sent," Mr Arabi told reporters.
He said other teams, including human rights experts, would follow.
Syria has consistently rejected the view of Western governments and human rights groups that the protests in the country have been overwhelmingly peaceful, insisting that they are the work of "armed groups".
The 22-member Arab bloc had been trying to persuade Damascus to accept the observer mission for weeks.
Under the terms of the deal that the observers are intended to oversee, Syrian security forces are required to pull back from the towns and villages that have been at the centre of nine straight months of protests.
The Syrian government is also obliged to open negotiations with the opposition under League auspices.
On 27 November, the bloc approved a raft of sanctions against Syria for failing to heed an ultimatum to admit the observers, including suspension from its meetings.
Earlier this month, Syria finally said it would allow in the mission, but laid down a number of conditions, including the lifting of sanctions.
The United Nations says at least 5,000 people have been killed since March.
