After a marathon session of talks, Honduras and Nicaragua have signed an agreement aimed at achieving a peaceful solution to their maritime border dispute.

The accord was reached in the early hours of today Tuesday in the capital of El Salvador San Salvador during negotiations between the foreign ministers of both sides.

They also agreed to establish a military exclusion zone in the disputed areas to help calm tensions along the Caribbean coastline.

Relations between Honduras and Nicaragua hit a new low in November, after Honduras reached a bilateral maritime agreement with Colombia -- which the Nicaraguans said was a violation of their sovereignty.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service