Moscow, Mar 27 (IANS): Russian President Vladimir Putin and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron discussed the COVID-19 outbreak in a video conference on Thursday, the Kremlin said in a statement.

The statement said the video conference was held at the initiative of the French side before the emergency virtual G20 meeting, Xinhua reported.

Putin and Macron informed each other about measures taken by Russia and France to counter the spread of the infection and minimize the negative socio-economic consequences, the statement said.

The parties confirmed their will to coordinate efforts on the issues of returning citizens of both countries to their homeland, as well as providing conditions for transporting medical supplies and equipment.

They discussed possible interaction within the framework of the UN Security Council in the joint fight against the coronavirus, according to the Kremlin.

Putin and Macron also discussed actual aspects of the settlement in Syria and Libya, the statement said, without providing further details.