MOSCOW, April 24. /TASS/. The situation around the Strait of Hormuz was the focus of a phone call between the Russian and UAE foreign ministers, Sergey Lavrov and Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahyan, the Russian foreign ministry said.

"The sides touched upon a range of international problems, including the situation surrounding the Strait of Hormuz, and spoke in favor of resuming talks to reach agreements on a lasting sustainable settlement of the crisis with due account of the legitimate interests of all countries of the region," it said.

"The ministers discussed key areas of bilateral cooperation in line with the Russian and UAE presidents’ agreements," the ministry noted, adding that they paid special attention to expanding humanitarian ties.

Apart from that, the two top diplomats recalled that a free trade agreement between the Eurasian Economic Union and the United Arab Emirates will soon come into force.

They also discussed a schedule of upcoming contacts between their ministries.