MOSCOW (MNN); Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday called for an immediate ceasefire in the ongoing Middle East war during a telephone conversation, the Kremlin said.
The conflict, which began over a month ago following US-Israeli strikes on Iran, has spread across the region, disrupting the global economy and affecting millions worldwide.
According to the Kremlin, both leaders stressed the need for a ceasefire and the pursuit of compromise-based peace agreements that respect the legitimate interests of all regional states. They warned that continued military escalation was causing serious global repercussions, particularly in energy, trade and logistics sectors.
The two leaders also discussed the need for coordinated efforts to ensure security in the Black Sea region. Russia accused Ukraine of attempting to target key gas infrastructure linking Russia and Turkey.
A day earlier, Russian authorities said they had repelled a drone attack on the TurkStream gas pipeline, operated by Gazprom, which supplies gas from southern Russia to Turkey.
Several European countries, including Hungary, Slovakia and Serbia, rely on this pipeline for energy supplies.
Moscow has repeatedly accused Ukraine of targeting its energy infrastructure, including incidents reported as recently as March. Ukraine, in turn, has conducted strikes on Russian energy facilities during the nearly four-year conflict, aiming to weaken Moscow’s war capabilities.
Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, attacks on energy infrastructure have caused widespread power and heating disruptions affecting millions of civilians.
