GENEVA — The participants in the fragile Syrian peace conference agreed on Friday to meet in the same room for the first time, in a last ditch agreement that averted a potential collapse.

The two sides were expected to spend much of Saturday trying to agree on a cease-fire to allow aid to reach areas long blockaded by the government in the central city of Homs, according to a Western diplomat who said the aim was to score “a quick win” for the talks.

The government delegation had threatened to leave if the Saturday meeting could not be arranged, while the opposition complained that the government side was not fully committed to the framework of the talks.

After a day of frantic negotiations, however, the United Nations special envoy to the talks announced at a news briefing that the two sides had agreed to meet. “Tomorrow we expect, and we’ve agreed, that we will meet in the same room,” the envoy, Lakhdar Brahimi, told reporters.