ISTANBUL

Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov has expressed his sincere support and solidarity with Oman's leadership and people amid the escalation in the Middle East after Iran targeted Gulf states in retaliation for the US-Israeli joint attacks on the country, which killed Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and 866 others, including over 150 elementary school girls.

Kyrgyz Foreign Minister Jeenbek Kulubayev said on Wednesday that he conveyed Japarov's messages of solidarity to his Omani counterpart, Sayyid Badr bin Hamad Al-Busaidi, over the phone and thanked Muscat for assistance in repatriating Kyrgyz citizens from Persian Gulf countries.

Tehran launched drone and missile strikes targeting Israel as well as what it described as "US interests" in eight Arab countries -- Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, Jordan, and Iraq -- since early Saturday. Some of the attacks caused casualties and damage to civilian property, actions condemned by the Gulf Cooperation Council.

The Central Asian nation's Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the two top diplomats discussed current regional issues and their impact on stability and security "in this part of the world."

At the end of the call, both sides stressed the importance of resolving all existing conflicts solely through diplomatic channels in order to stabilize the situation as soon as possible.