MOSCOW, April 13. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron have held a telephone call on Friday, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
When asked if the two leaders had discussed the situation in Syria, he said: "yes, the conversation touched upon that."
The Russian presidential spokesman said that the conversation’s details would be provided later.
Putin and Macron ordered the countries’ defense and foreign ministers to maintain a close contact to de-escalate tensions in Syria, the Kremlin press service said.
"The sides continued exchanging views on the current situation in Syria which escalated after claims on the alleged use of chemical weapons in the city of Douma," the statement said.
"The leaders ordered the defense and foreign ministers to maintain a close contact with the goal of de-escalating the current situation," it said.
The Russian leader called to carry out a thorough and unbiased investigation into the incident in Syria’s Douma and avoid unfounded accusations against anyone until the investigation was over.
"It is most important to refrain from ill-considered and dangerous steps which would be a gross violation of the United Nations’ Charter and would have unpredictable consequences," the Kremlin said.
The Russian and French leaders welcomed the decision on sending to Syria a mission of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons at the government’s invitation. They discussed possible bilateral cooperation on providing assistance to the OPCW mission’s work.
Putin emphasized the need to conduct a thorough and impartial investigation into the alleged chemical weapons attack in Syria’s Douma and also called for refraining from groundless accusations, the Kremlin press service said.
"Before the investigation is complete, it would be reasonable to refrain from groundless accusations against anyone. The most important thing is to refrain from ill-considered and dangerous actions that would violate the United Nations Charter and would also have unpredictable consequences," the statement reads.
The international chemical watchdog’s experts will begin work in Syria on Saturday, a spokesman for the OPCW said. The Syrian government confirmed that it was "keen on cooperating with the OPCW to uncover the truth behind the allegations that some western sides have been advertising to justify their aggressive intentions."