Turkish, US leaders discuss cooperation amid pandemic

By Jeyhun Aliyev

ISTANBUL (AA) - The presidents of Turkey and the U.S. agreed on Sunday to cooperate against the global coronavirus pandemic and its effects.

In a phone call, Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump discussed bilateral relations and regional developments, according to a statement released by Turkey's Communications Directorate.

The statement said that Erdogan and Trump agreed to continue close cooperation against the threat posed by the novel coronavirus outbreak on public health and the economies of both countries as a requirement of the "spirit of solidarity" of the NATO Alliance.

The coronavirus death toll in Turkey reached 2,017 as of Sunday, with 86,306 cases to date, according to the country's Health Ministry.

Meanwhile, the U.S. on Sunday reported 2,009 additional coronavirus-related deaths over the past 24 hours, surpassing the 39,000 mark, according to the Maryland-based Johns Hopkins University. The university's running tally counted a total of 39,135 deaths and 737,319 cases.

After originating in China last December, COVID-19, the disease caused by coronavirus, has spread to at least 185 countries and regions across the world. Europe and the U.S. are currently the worst-hit regions.

The pandemic has killed over 163,300 people, with total infections exceeding 2.37 million, while more than 611,100 have recovered from the disease, according to Hopkins data.