(VOVWORLD) -The escalating fighting in the Middle East has caused grave concern in the international community and many countries have called for restraint to prevent further escalation in the region.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in an interview with Russiya-1 TV channel that now is the right time to implement President Vladimir Putin's idea of convening a summit of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council.
Malaysia stands ready to support any credible effort toward a negotiated cessation of hostilities, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said in a Facebook post on Monday. “I call on the international community to act with urgency and purpose before this conflict claims yet more lives and pulls yet more nations into its wake,” he added.
Once again, China calls for an immediate stop to military operations to prevent the conflict from spilling over and spreading, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Sunday. “The history of the Middle East tells the world time and again that force provides no solution and armed conflicts will only increase hatred and breed new crises,” he added.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan warned of the risk of further instability in Iran. Turkey opposes all scenarios aimed at igniting a civil war in Iran that exploit ethnic or religious divisions, Fidan said in a press conference on Saturday evening, that this scenario is the most dangerous, adding that "any internal crisis there will have repercussions that will extend to the entire region.