Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani on Thursday affirmed their countries' commitment to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on Iran's nuclear programme.

The two leaders held a telephone conversation that focused on various issues, including the JCPOA.

"Vladimir Putin pointed out that the JCPOA was vital for the maintenance of global stability and security," a statement by Kremlin said.

The Russian president called for preserving the Iranian nuclear deal, while pledging that "as in the past five years, we will support the international document and insist on implementing and preserving it."

Rouhani reaffirmed Iran's commitment to the JCPOA and readiness for equal and constructive collaboration both with all of its signatories and within the IAEA.

The Iranian leader appreciated Russia's support for the JCPOA as well as its opposition to the U.S. "unilateral" policies toward it.

He urged the remaining parties to the nuclear deal to confront Washington's pressures to extend a UN arms ban against Iran. 

Rouhani slammed what he called U.S. "unilateralism" in its global and international policies. 

He also underscored the need for Iran to continue cooperation with Russia and Turkey within the framework of the Astana process to restore peace and stability to Syria. 

JCPOA, signed in 2015 by Iran and six world powers, including the United States,  allows UN inspectors from the IAEA to carry out more intrusive inspections of Iran's nuclear program.

Under the JCPOA, the United States, Russia, China, Germany, Britain and France agreed in 2015 to the deal with Iran that prevents Tehran from developing nuclear weapons in return for sanctions relief.

U.S. President Donald Trump however pulled out of the pact in 2018 and reimposed sanctions, saying the agreement did not do enough to contain Tehran's missile program and regional influence.

In their telephone conversation, President Putin and President Rouhani also discussed their countries' fight against COVID-19, which continues to spread despite concerted global efforts to bring it under control.

(With input from Xinhua)