Turkish, U.S. leaders discuss deadly coronavirus pandemic over phone

Having a telephone conversation on Tuesday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump exchanged views over the global coronavirus pandemic, the latest developments Syria and Libya and bilateral relations.

TRUMP, ERDOĞAN STRESS NEED FOR SYRIA, LIBYA CEASEFIRES
Trump and his Turkish counterpart Erdoğan underlined the need for ceasefires in Syria and Libya during the coronavirus pandemic, the White House said.

The two spoke by phone on efforts to "defeat the virus and bolster the global economy," the White House said in a statement.

And they "agreed it is more important now than ever for countries in conflict, particularly Syria and Libya, to adhere to ceasefires and work toward resolution."

The leaders agreed to take the necessary steps to share best practices and data on controlling the various effects of the pandemic.

In Turkey, more than 10,000 people have tested positive for COVID-19 while 168 people have died.

In the U.S., over 3,000 people died of the virus, with 163,429 infected.

After first appearing in Wuhan, China, in December, the virus has spread to at least 179 countries and regions, according to the U.S-based Johns Hopkins University database.

The data shows the confirmed number of cases worldwide has surpassed 803,600, with the death toll over 39,000 and more than 172,700 recoveries.