MOSCOW (Reuters) – The Russian Defence Ministry said on Tuesday it would extend a moratorium on air strikes on the Syrian city of Aleppo, but did not specify for how long.

Russia said earlier on Tuesday that Russian and Syrian military planes had not launched air strikes on Aleppo since Oct. 18, contradicting reports that air strikes in some areas of the city had resumed on Saturday.

Russia’s Interfax news agency reported earlier that a “humanitarian pause” in Aleppo would be extended by three hours, but a defense ministry statement later clarified that extension related to a ceasefire on Oct. 20 and not to air strikes.

“The moratorium on air strikes by the Russian and Syrian air forces around (Aleppo) will be extended,” the ministry said in the statement, saying it meant Russian and Syrian planes would continue to stay out of a 10 kilometer zone around Aleppo.

It said it was also ready to organize more ceasefires on the ground in Aleppo to allow wounded civilians to be evacuated.

“We are ready to establish (further) humanitarian pauses … but only if we have reliable information about the readiness to evacuate the sick, injured and civilian population,” the defense ministry said.

(Reporting by Polina Devitt/Denis Pinchuk; Writing by Jack Stubbs; Editing by Andrew Osborn)