Elena Teslova
30 March 2020•Update: 31 March 2020
MOSCOW
The presidents of Russia and the U.S. on Monday discussed the spreading global coronavirus pandemic over the phone.
Russia's Vladimir Putin and his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump both voiced concern over the scale of the novel coronavirus outbreak and informed each other about the measures their country took to stem the infection, the Kremlin said in an online statement.
"The heads of state expressed serious concern about the scale of the coronavirus spread in the world and informed each other about the measures taken in Russia and the United States to counter this threat. The possibilities of closer cooperation between the two countries in this area were discussed," it said.
In addition, Putin and Trump exchanged views on the current state of the global oil market, agreeing to hold bilateral consultations on the issue, it added.
Following the phone call, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also spoke on the phone.
Lavrov and Pompeo exchanged views on the situation in the world caused by the coronavirus pandemic, Russia's Foreign Ministry said.
They vowed to contribute to the implementation of the decisions taken at the March 26 virtual G20 summit on a global response against the pandemic and addressed international issues including Syrian conflict and bilateral relations.
The number of people diagnosed with the new coronavirus in Russia surged to 1,836 with 302 new cases, with 11 deaths.
Several regions, including second-largest city St. Petersburg and the capital Moscow, were put on lockdown on March 30. People are only allowed to leave their homes for buying groceries, medicines, walking pets within 100 meters (328 feet) from home and disposing garbage.
Besides, Russia has banned the entry of foreign nationals and closed air and land traffic.
Cases in the U.S. have topped 144,000, with deaths exceeding 2,500, according to data compiled by the Maryland-based Johns Hopkins University.
After first appearing in Wuhan, China, in December, the virus, officially known as COVID-19, has spread to at least 177 countries and regions, indicates the Johns Hopkins University database.
The data shows more than 750,000 cases have been reported worldwide, with the death toll nearing 35,300, and over 156,800 recoveries.
