Germany's foreign minister says a new Russian offer of a unilateral pause in fighting in Aleppo on Friday is "far from enough" either to evacuate the sick or to bring humanitarian supplies into the city.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered his forces to open humanitarian corridors to eastern Aleppo Friday, along with two routes for rebels to leave the city.

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier criticized the shortness of the pause after a meeting in Berlin Thursday with Riad Hijab, head of the Syrian opposition's High Negotiations Committee.

Steinmeier says it's important to ensure that the upcoming change of U.S. administrations doesn't result in a vacuum, adding that "we now urgently need a new impetus for talks between Moscow and Washington, but also the regional actors."