FILE PHOTO: Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan attends a joint news conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin (not pictured) following their talks in Moscow, Russia March 5, 2020. Pavel Golovkin/Pool via REUTERS

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and his Azeri counterpart Ilham Aliyev agreed in a phone call on Saturday to temporarily halt air and land travel between the two countries, excluding cargo, Turkey’s communications directorate said.

It said the move was within the framework of measures being taken to counter the spread of the coronavirus.