UN-Arab League envoy Kofi Annan urged the UN Security Council on Thursday to deploy observers in Syria as soon as possible to monitor a ceasefire between government forces and opposition rebels, dpa reported. "The situation in Syria was relatively quiet and the cessation of hostilities appears to be holding," Annan told the 15-nation council in New York during a closed-door meeting through a videoconference. Annan said the ceasefire and deployment of observers will allow him to move "quickly" to launch a serious political dialogue that will address the aspirations of the Syrian people.