Russia urges restraint in Middle East, confirms Turkish FM's Moscow visit

As tensions continue to escalate across the Middle East, Russia has renewed its call for restraint and a return to diplomacy. Against this backdrop, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan is set to visit Moscow for high-level talks aimed at addressing regional developments and bilateral issues. 

Russia expressed deep concern over the latest escalation in the Middle East and called for an immediate halt to military action, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told a briefing, Caliber.Az reports, citing Russian media.

Zakharova said Moscow was extremely concerned by the latest round of armed confrontation between the United States and Iran. She stated that Russia viewed the escalation as having been triggered by what it described as unprovoked US-Israeli attacks against the Islamic Republic of Iran.

The Russian diplomat urged all parties to exercise restraint and called for an immediate cessation of military strikes. She added that Moscow hopes the situation will return to a political and diplomatic track as soon as possible.

Zakharova also announced that Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan is scheduled to pay a working visit to Moscow from June 15 to 17.

During the visit, Fidan is expected to hold talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and participate in other bilateral meetings. According to Zakharova, the agenda includes negotiations between the two foreign ministers as well as a number of additional contacts aimed at discussing issues of mutual interest.

By Vafa Guliyeva