Britain has announced it will give temporary residence to several hundred of Syria's most vulnerable refugees.
The United Nations has called on western countries to take in 30,000 Syrians.
Until now the British government has refused, stressing that instead is is giving more than $US1.2 billion in aid, the BBC reports.
Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said Britain couldn't provide safety for everyone who needed it but that it could reach out to those who needed it most.
Mr Clegg said the highest priority would go to women and girls who had experienced or were at risk of sexual violence, the elderly, survivors of torture and individuals with disabilities.
Government sources say there is no target, but they expect overall numbers of those given refuge to be in the hundreds.
Peace talks end early
Syrian peace talks being held in Geneva have broken up early amid opposition demands that the government address the question of a transition of power.
The talks are at an impasse, with people divided over the future role of the President, Bashar al-Assad, the BBC reports.
The opposition say they want the Syrian government to have time to come up with a proposal on a transitional governing body.
UN mediator Lakhdar Brahimi said the talks also failed to make progress on getting aid to the city of Homs. Despite the lack of a breakthrough, he says the talks are continuing and that is "good enough".
