MOSCOW

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Tuesday exchanged views on the developing situation in the Middle East with his Iranian and Saudi counterparts.

The Foreign Ministry, in a statement after Lavrov's call with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, said 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," according to the readout.

Later in the day, Lavrov also spoke to Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan, with both sides emphasizing the importance of "immediately ceasing all military action and abandoning the use of force to resolve the conflict," according to the ministry.

"Both sides expressed the need to consolidate the efforts of the international community in order to quickly reduce military and political tensions and prevent further deterioration of the situation in the Middle East."

The conversations took place a 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 told 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 have since killed more than 1,300 people, including Ayotallah Ali Khamenei, who was the supreme leader.

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