Russian, Iranian foreign ministers discuss situation in Middle East

Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov exchanged views Tuesday in a call on the developing situation in the Middle East with his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi, according to the Russian Foreign Ministry.

The ministry said in a statement that the state of affairs "sharply deteriorated as a result of the unprovoked aggression of the US and Israel against Iran."

"Sergey Lavrov reiterated the principled position in favor of the swift de-escalation and return of the situation to the path of political-diplomatic settlement, which the Russian side is consistently ready to facilitate, with due regard for the security interests of Iran and its neighbors in the region," it said.

The conversation took place one day after a call between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his US counterpart Donald Trump.

Commenting on media reports suggesting that Trump and Putin may have discussed Russia's mediation efforts to de-escalate the situation in the Middle East, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said at a briefing in Moscow that Putin, from the very beginning of the crisis, had proposed various options for Russian mediation that could help reduce tensions.

Tensions escalated across the Middle East on Feb. 28 when the US and Israel launched large-scale attacks against Iran that killed more than 1,300 victims, including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

Tehran has responded with drone and missile strikes targeting Israel as well as Gulf countries that host US assets.