MOSCOW, July 21 (Xinhua) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron discussed the implementation of a joint initiative on delivering relief to Syria over the phone Saturday, the Kremlin said.

"Special attention was devoted to humanitarian aspects of the Syrian settlement process, including the implementation of a joint Russian-French initiative on rendering assistance to the population of Eastern Ghouta," the Kremlin said in a statement.

Earlier in the day, the Russian Defense Ministry said that a Russian military transport aircraft had delivered 44 tons of humanitarian cargo from France to Syria.

The two leaders also discussed a number of international and regional issues as a follow-up to the talks held on July 15 in Moscow, according to the statement.

On July 15, Putin and Macron discussed the positive developments in Russia-France relations at their talks held in the Kremlin. Putin confirmed that the mechanisms of cooperation between the two countries are being restored.