YEREVAN, OCTOBER 21, ARMENPRESS. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and his US counterpart John Kerry discussed the ongoing conflict in Syria and its embattled city of Aleppo in a phone call on Thursday, Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement, Sputnik News reported.

According to the statement, the Russian minister said that militants in Aleppo were trying to derail ceasefire in the city and prevent local residents from leaving the embattled city.

"In continuation of the bilateral dialogue on the Syrian issue, the heads of the foreign ministries, in pursuance of the Lausanne agreements reached on October 15, discussed the ways to normalize the situation in the eastern part of Aleppo, where Syria's government forces and Russia's Aerospace Forces have announced a humanitarian pause in their military operations and are ready to extend it if the Nusra Front and illegal armed groups that have joined it do not violate the ceasefire regime," the statement said.

The statement added that the experts from both Russia and the United States would continue their efforts aimed at the settlement of the conflict in the Middle Eastern nation.

The "humanitarian pause" was introduced in Aleppo at 08:00 local time (05:00 GMT) on Thursday to ensure the safe evacuation of unarmed militants, and civilians from eastern Aleppo via eight designated corridors. Earlier in the day, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu announced that Moscow had decided to extend the humanitarian pause in Aleppo for another 24 hours.