In the Syrian city of Aleppo, where bombed-out neighbourhoods and shelled buildings stand as a brutal reminder of the civil war's devastation, there is hope for the latest round of peace negotiations.
Resident Yahya Aswad says it's time to end the conflict.
"We hope that they will reach an agreement, God willing, and may God make them know the right from the wrong and reach an agreement. The people are tired."
And it's the long-suffering people of Syria that fellow resident Anas Farfouti has called on peace talk participants to consider.
"We hope that God will make them do what is good for the Syrian people because the Syrian people have had enough and no-one has suffered like them in the whole world."
The talks - which begin today in the Kazakhstan capital Astana - are being attended by the Syrian Government and some opposition leaders.
Syria's United Nations ambassador, Bashar Ja'afari, heads the government delegation.
He says the meeting aims to install solid ceasefire lines and separate groups involved in the talks from militant organisations.
"We need to agree on the ceasefire, separate those groups from the Nusra Front and IS, find common ground with the participants of Astana to fight terrorism together. And this will be a test of credibility for those who are going to be at the table in Astana or those who employ them in relation to fighting terrorism."
A spokesman for the opposition Free Syrian Army says the chief aim is to ensure the ceasefire holds.
"We came to Astana with the goal of cementing the ceasefire and the truce, this is the goal for the first stage. There are current internal negotiations taking place within our delegation, and we're looking into tomorrow's talks. We are currently meeting the Turkish side as well, to examine the agenda for the negotiations."
The talks follow a ceasefire brokered by Russia and Turkey late last year.
Russia invited the United States to Astana for the talks but the new Trump administration has declined to send a delegation, but the US ambassador to Kazakhstan will attend.
While there's hope of some real progress at the talks, those who have fled Syria for refugee camps in Lebanon fear that, once again, they'll be simply pawns in the political games.
"Everyone is trading us, be it Russia, Iran or Turkey," Homs refugee Wahid Al-Akari says. "We are the victims and we have become like a cake that they want to share, so everyone takes a piece from it."
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