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Presidents of Russia and Iran agree on joint action to fight coronavirus - Kremlin

Earlier, Iran’s Ambassador to Russia Kazem Jalali said that Iran, which had declared a need for facemasks, ventilators and test systems, already received aid from several nations, including Russia

MOSCOW, April 21./TASS/. The presidents of Russia and Iran, Vladimir Putin and Hassan Rouhani, have agreed on direct contacts between the countries’ ministries of health to fight the novel coronavirus, the Kremlin press service said after their phone call on Tuesday.

The presidents discussed "the battle against the spread of coronavirus infection. In this context, Rouhani expressed gratitude for Russia’s assistance to Iran," the press service said. The presidents agreed "to boost cooperation between the relevant agencies, including direct contacts between the ministries of health," it added.

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No new world order after coronavirus exits, UN’s role to weaken, predicts Iranian diplomat

Putin and Rouhani also emphasized "the importance of pooling efforts of the global community with an aim to jointly fight the coronavirus pandemic, and the importance of the Russian initiative to create ‘green corridors’ at the time of the crisis for unimpeded supplies of medicines, equipment and technologies, as well as to impose a moratorium on any restrictions targeting exports of essential goods," the press service stressed.

Earlier, Iran’s Ambassador to Russia Kazem Jalali said that Iran, which had declared a dire need for facemasks, ventilators and test systems, already received aid from several nations, including from Russia.

Iran’s Embassy in Moscow said on April 11 that Russia had sent 500 test kits as humanitarian assistance to Iran, which can be used for 50,000 people. It said that apart from medical aid to Iran, Russia also took a friendly stance, saying the US should lift sanctions, in particular against the background of spreading coronavirus.

Another 1,297 novel coronavirus cases have been recorded in Iran over the past 24 hours, the total number of infected people has amounted to almost 85,000, Spokesman for Iran’s Ministry of Health and Medical Education Kiyanush Jahanpur said on Tuesday.

"The number of new coronavirus cases in the country has amounted to 1,297, while the total number of infected people has reached 84,802," ISNA News Agency quotes him as saying.

According to Jahanpur, 88 people have died over the past 24 hours, the total number of fatalities stands at 5,297.

A total of 60,960 people have recovered by now, he noted, adding that 365,723 coronavirus tests have been conducted in the country.

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