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Russian, Chinese foreign ministers discuss joint efforts against coronavirus outbreak

Up to now, China has confirmed over 11,700 cases of patients infected with the novel coronavirus, while the death toll from the virus has hit 259

MOSCOW, February 1. /TASS/. The foreign ministers of Russia and China, Sergey Lavrov and Wang Yi, discussed in a phone talk the two countries’ joint efforts to battle the coronavirus outbreak, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Saturday.

"The Russian side highly praised the measures being taken by China against the spread of the disease caused by coronavirus. [They] discussed the Russian-Chinese cooperation in that field," the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

In late December 2019, the Chinese authorities registered an outbreak of pneumonia caused by coronavirus 2019-nCoV in the city of Wuhan, a large trade and industrial center in China populated by 11 million people. Apart from China, 23 other countries, including Russia, have reported confirmed coronavirus cases. The World Health Organization declared the new coronavirus outbreak an international public health emergency. Up to now, China has confirmed over 11,700 cases of patients infected with the novel coronavirus, while the death toll from the virus has hit 259.

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Military operation in Ukraine

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