MOSCOW. June 16 (Interfax) - Russian President Vladimir Putin has spoken with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan by phone, the Kremlin press service said.
"The conversation focused on the steep escalation of tensions in the Middle East. Vladimir Putin and Recep Tayyip Erdogan condemned the Israeli military operation against Iran launched in violation of the UN Charter and other norms of international law," the press service said.
"Both sides expressed profound concern about the ongoing escalation of the Iranian-Israeli conflict, which has caused a great number of casualties and is fraught with severe long-term consequences for the entire region. The leaders called for the immediate end of hostilities and settlement of all contentious issues, including those concerning the Iranian nuclear program exclusively by political and diplomatic means," the press service said.
The parties agreed that relevant agencies of both countries would maintain close contacts in this area.
"While discussing Ukraine, Vladimir Putin thanked the Turkish side for organizing support for direct Russian-Ukrainian negotiations. It was noted that Russia honored the agreements reached after the second round of negotiations, including those on the transfer of bodies of deceased servicemen and the prisoner swap," the press service said.
The parties exchanged views on the bilateral agenda, including the energy sector. This issue will be discussed at Russian-Turkish contacts on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum and a meeting of the Intergovernmental Commission on Trade and Economic Cooperation due at the end of June, it said.