MOSCOW, March 26-- Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani on Thursday called for an immediate halt to hostilities in Yemen in their telephone conversation, the Kremlin said.

The two sides discussed the sharply deteriorating situation in Yemen, and the Russian side stressed the urgency of an immediate cessation of hostilities in Yemen and of stepping up efforts, including by the UN, to develop options for a peaceful settlement of the conflict, according to a Kremlin statement.

Saudi Arabia and its Gulf allies launched airstrikes Wednesday on the Shiite Houthi group in Yemen, a country that has experienced a power struggle since January when President Abd- Rabbu Mansour Hadi and Prime Minister Khaled Bahah submitted their resignation in protest against the Houthi group's takeover of the capital.

Hadi fled to the southern port city of Aden in February after being placed under house arrest by the Houthi group.

During their phone talks, Putin and Rouhani also exchanged views on the Iran nuclear talks. They noted the progress made in the P5+1 (five permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany) negotiations concerning Tehran's nuclear program and expressed hope for success at the new round of talks in the Swiss city of Lausanne.