Moscow, Jul 27 (IANS): Russian President Vladimir Putin has held a phone call with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky at the initiative of the Ukrainian side, discussing issues of the settlement of the Ukrainian crisis, the Kremlin said in a statement.

"There was a thorough discussion of various aspects of settling the Ukrainian crisis and the need for boosting the efficiency of negotiating efforts as part of the Minsk contact group," said the statement on Sunday, Xinhua reported.

The parties praised additional ceasefire measures that were agreed by the contact group on July 22 and are to come into effect on July 27, it added.

Putin and Zelensky stressed the importance of unconditional compliance by all parties of the conflict with these agreements, according to the statement.

The Russian side underscored that it is a top priority to implement the decisions made by the Normandy Four format leaders, including during their summit in Paris in December 2019.

The presidents also exchanged opinions on other issues, including the situation caused by the coronavirus pandemic.