Putin urges end to Middle East hostilities in phone call with Iranian president

MOSCOW, March 6 (Xinhua) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin held a phone conversation with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Friday, urging an immediate end to hostilities in the Middle East, the Kremlin said.

During the phone call, Putin expressed condolences over the killing of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, members of his family, representatives of the country's military and political leadership, as well as the numerous civilian casualties as a result of the U.S.-Israeli armed aggression against Iran.

Putin reaffirmed Russia's principled position that hostilities should cease immediately and that the use of force to resolve issues on Iran and across the Middle East must be abandoned, calling for a swift return to political and diplomatic efforts to resolve the conflict, according to the Kremlin.

Putin also noted that he has been in constant contact with the leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries regarding the situation.

For his part, Pezeshkian thanked Russia for its solidarity with the Iranian people in defending the sovereignty and independence of their homeland and briefed Putin in detail on the developments in the current phase of the conflict.

The two sides agreed to continue contacts through various channels, the Kremlin said. Enditem