Russian, Syrian planes halt Aleppo airstrikes ahead of truce

In a televised meeting with military officers, Shoigu said the airstrikes ended at 10 a.m. local time (07.00GMT) and described the move as “essential” for Thursday’s “humanitarian pause”.

Russian Federation has said that the truce will run from 0500 GMT to 1300 GMT on Thursday to allow for the evacuation of trapped civilians. Russian Federation and Syria today said they have stopped the bombings.

Russia’s announcement came on the day 14 members of one family were reportedly killed in a strike in Aleppo.

Russian Federation stopped short of initiating a full-fledged cease-fire, a step that Western governments have been demanding.

Merkel says she and France’s President Francois Hollande will discuss Syria with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of a planned meeting on Ukraine in Berlin on Wednesday, but cautioned against expecting “miracles”.

Mohammed Abu Rajab, an Aleppo resident, said airstrikes on the eastern neighborhoods stopped early Tuesday, just after the city had been subjected to another intense round of air raids.

The EU ministers said they would press ahead with extending sanctions against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s government, but stopped short of threatening measures against Russian Federation. The White House pulled out of more peace talks earlier this month, saying there was “nothing more for the United States and Russian Federation to talk about”.

Three children and their parents were killed, the Observatory said.

“There are no terrorists in Aleppo”, he said.

Russian defence ministry official Sergei Rudskoy announced the pause in attacks on Monday afternoon.

Shoigu further said that the halt in fighting would also guarantee the safety of sick and wounded people who are being evacuated from the city.

In recent months, the Syrian army has pressed its offensive into the rebel-held eastern part of the city.

“There are a lot of measures we’re proposing, to do with extra sanctions on the Syrian regime and their supporters, measures to bring those responsible for war crimes to the International Criminal Court”, said Johnson. “But equally, they know that the European Union is at risk of being seen to be doing nothing”, the diplomat said.

Both leaders have been sharply critical of Russia’s support for the forces of Syrian President Bashar Assad.

Shoigu said the initiative could “contribute to the success” of worldwide military talks in Geneva on Wednesday on efforts to distance Syrian opposition fighters from jihadist group Fateh al-Sham Front, which changed its name from al-Nusra Front after renouncing its ties to al-Qaeda.

Information for this article was contributed by Bassem Mroue, Albert Aji, James Heintz and Philip Issaof The Associated Press; and by Andrew Atkinson, Patrick Donahue, Helene Fouquet and John Follain of Bloomberg News.