Russian President Vladimir Putin has offered a 10-hour truce on November 4 in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo, the Russian Defense Ministry said.
"A decision was made to introduce a 'humanitarian pause' in Aleppo on November 4 from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.” local time to "prevent senseless casualties," the chief of Russia's General Staff, Valery Gerasimov, said in a statement on November 2.
The decision was approved by Syrian authorities, Gerasimov said.
He added that civilians and combatants will be able to leave rebel-held eastern Aleppo through eight corridors.
Rebels launched a major assault last week to break the siege of the area.
On November 1, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Russia had not used warplanes in the area for 16 days, following criticism over a Russian-backed Syrian government assault.
But Shoigu also accused the U.S.-led coalition of failing to rein in hard-line rebels, and Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the pause in Russian air strikes would not continue "if the terrorists continue to fire on neighborhoods and humanitarian aid routes, launch attacks, and continue to hide behind a [human] shield."
