MOSCOW, August 6. /TASS/. Issues of humanitarian assistance were the focus of telephone talks between Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Vershinin and Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Martin Griffiths, the Russian foreign ministry said on Friday.

"The sides discussed key issues of the constructive cooperation between Russia and the OCHA. Special attention was focused on the current situation in Syria and Ethiopia," it said.

"Both sides stressed the necessity of humanitarian assistance to these countries on the basis of strict compliance with the United Nations guiding principles in coordination with the legitimate government," the ministry added.