According to Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu, the halt in the strikes should help pave way for militants to leave the eastern rebel-held parts of the contested city.

Both Russian and Syrian air raids on Aleppo were suspended on 10 am, Shoigu said, describing the suspension as a precursor for the opening of humanitarian corridors for the rebels to leave Aleppo on Thursday, for when Moscow has announced a "humanitarian pause" between 8 am and 4 pm to allow civilians and militants safe passage out of the city.

At that time, Russian and Syrian militaries will desist from any offensive actions. Syrian rebels, including al-Qaida militants, as well as the wounded and the sick will be allowed to leave to the neighbouring rebel-held province of Idlib.

"The early halting of airstrikes is necessary to declare a 'humanitarian pause'," Shoigu said in a televised statement. "It will ... guarantee a safe exit of civilians through six corridors and prepare for the evacuation of the ill and the wounded from the eastern part of Aleppo."

Aleppo, Syria's largest city and once its commercial hub, has been subjected to the most intense aerial bombardment since the start of the Mideast country's conflict in 2011. In recent months, the Syrian army has pressed its offensive into the rebel-held eastern part of the city. Air raids have killed hundreds and caused international outrage.

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

"There were airstrikes throughout the night," Abu Rajab, who works at a local hospital, said over the telephone.

In Moscow, Shoigu added that Russia is "asking the countries wielding influence with the (Syrian) rebels in the eastern part of Aleppo to persuade their leaders to end fighting and leave the city."

He said the Syrian troops will pull back to distances allowing unimpeded exit for those carrying weapons via two corridors, including the main artery of Castello Road.

The Russian initiative also should boost talks between military experts from several nations that are set to open in Geneva on Wednesday, he added.

"Their work will be aimed first of all at separating the 'moderate opposition' from the terrorists and its withdrawal from the eastern part of Aleppo," he said. Russia, like the Syrian government, refers to militants in the Syrian conflict as "terrorists."

During a meeting over the weekend co-chaired by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and US Secretary of State John Kerry, foreign ministers from Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Qatar said they would work to separate moderate opposition groups in Aleppo from the former al-Qaida affiliate in Syria once known as the Nusra Front.

A Russia-US-brokered cease-fire collapsed last month as the Syrian army launched an offensive on the rebel-held neighbourhoods of Aleppo under the cover of Russian warplanes.

Russian and Syrian officials have embraced a proposal made earlier this month by the UN Syria envoy, Staffan de Mistura, to allow al-Qaida-linked militants to leave Aleppo in exchange for truce and a local administration for the city's eastern districts. Rebels in the east, along with many residents, have rejected the offer.

Also, Monday's Russian announcement on the one-sided temporary truce for Thursday did not include any promises of an extended cease-fire or local administration in and around Aleppo.