United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and Montreal mayor Denis Coderre hold a joint news conference at city hall Friday, February 12, 2016 in Montreal. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson

MONTREAL - The international community must continue to facilitate dialogue between warring factions in Syria, United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said Friday.

Ban said the UN must also get "life-saving humanitarian aid" to the millions of people affected by the fighting and focus on defeating terrorist groups in the region.

"All these three dimensions must go in parallel and there is no such time to wait until one dimension is resolved," he told reporters while on a visit to Montreal's city hall.

"We have to continue to address all three at the same time. It's not that easy but we are working very hard."

Ban was commenting after reports that diplomats have agreed to work toward a temporary cease-fire in Syrian's civil war by next week.

The deal between diplomats appeared to be the result of a compromise between the United States, which had wanted an immediate cease-fire, and Russia, which proposed one that would start March 1.

Ban said the most important factor for peace in the region is for all sides to "sit down together and discuss all pending issues. That's what the UN has been doing since 2012."

That is proving to be difficult, however, he added.

The powers vying for influence in Syria include the United States-backed coalition, partly comprised of France, the UK and Canada; as well as others such as Russia, Iran, Turkey and Saudi Arabia.

Ban said the Syrian civil war will enter its sixth year of bloodshed next month and that millions of people are in dire need of humanitarian assistance.

People working with organizations such as the federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, along with Doctors Without Borders "have been risking their lives" to help Syrians, he noted.

Finally, Ban said the international community must "take all the measures to address and defeat and counter these terrorist attacks" conducted by groups such as Islamic State and the al-Qaida-affiliated al-Nusra Front.

Ban later addressed students at McGill University and was then to visit the headquarters of the International Civil Aviation Organization before meeting with Premier Philippe Couillard.

On Saturday, he is scheduled to visit an anti-radicalization centre with Mayor Denis Coderre.

— With files from the Associated Press

News from © The Canadian Press, 2016