On April 1, Russian President Vladimir Putin held a phone conversation with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan to discuss potential cooperation in tackling the COVID-19 pandemic, the next steps in joint efforts in Syria as well as the developments in Libya.

The phone call came a week after Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu visited Syria and was hosted by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus.

Why it matters? As Al-Monitor reported earlier, Shoigu and Assad also discussed the situation in Idlib and the coronavirus crisis. The Putin-Erdogan negotiated truce for Idlib has been holding up so far but remains rather fragile. Russia now expects Turkey to deliver on its commitments to separate the moderate Syrian opposition from the terrorists of the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group. Russian military sources told Al-Monitor this week that Ankara might be preparing for a limited operation against the extremists in Idlib.

The coronavirus pandemic is yet another issue that keeps both presidents busy these days. Both need to demonstrate to their constituencies that they can manage it effectively. Both have received domestic criticism that their actions to combat COVID-19 have left a lot to be desired. For Putin, who concentrated some of Russia's coronavirus efforts on the foreign policy front, international contacts — be they with Turkey’s Erdogan, America’s Donald Trump, China’s Xi Jinping or Italy’s Giuseppe Conte — are an important marker of international leadership success. Hence, the special attention Putin drew to the safe return of Russians, stuck in Turkey, back home.