Russian President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Angela Merkel discussed issues related to Ukraine, Syria, Libya and the Iran nuclear deal by phone on Thursday, the Kremlin said.

During the discussion of the prospects for resolving the conflict in Ukraine, "the lack of alternatives to the Minsk agreements as the basis for a settlement was emphasized," a Kremlin statement said.

According to the statement, Putin and Merkel agreed to continue joint work within the framework of the Normandy Four format, which groups Russia, Germany, France and Ukraine.

The Russian president stressed the importance of serious preparations for the next summit of the Normandy Four leaders in order to achieve concrete positive results.

He emphasized the need for Kiev to fulfill the agreements reached during the summits of the Normandy Four in Paris and Berlin in 2015 and 2016, respectively.

Putin informed Merkel of the situation in Syria, including the steps taken to neutralize terrorist threats in the Idlib de-escalation zone, where the Syrian army continued military operations against rebels.

Both parties stated the importance of the speedy formation and launch of a constitutional committee, which has become the centerpiece of the United Nations' (UN) peace efforts in Syria with the goal to hold elections to end the eight years of devastating war.

During the discussion of the Libyan issue, Putin and Merkel expressed the mutual intention to contribute to a peaceful resolution of the crisis there and to continue to support UN mediation in this process.

Merkel briefed Putin on the discussion of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), commonly known as the Iran nuclear deal, at the recent Group of Seven (G7) summit in Biarritz, France.

"The need to consolidate the efforts of all stakeholders to maintain the JCPOA was noted," the Kremlin statement said.