MOSCOW. Jan 15 (Interfax) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian have discussed the situation in the Middle East and bilateral cooperation in a phone call, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Monday.
"The ministers discussed progress in drafting a new interstate treaty and certain practical aspects of bilateral cooperation on trade, the economy, transport, logistics and in other areas," the ministry said in a statement on its website.
"They emphasized the escalation of tensions in the Middle East," it said.
"The foreign ministers strongly condemned the heavy strikes on Yemeni territory by a group of states led by the United States and the United Kingdom," it said.
The ministers "called for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and the provision of unimpeded humanitarian access to the enclave to provide urgent assistance to the affected civilian population," it said.
They also "discussed further contacts and coordination at every level and underlined the unwavering mutual commitment to the fundamental principles of Russian-Iranian relations, including unconditional respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity and other principles of the UN Charter, which will be reaffirmed in the major interstate treaty between the Russian Federation and the Islamic Republic of Iran that is being prepared for signing," the ministry said.