Russia's Putin, Saudi crown prince discuss Iran escalation risks

Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed risks of escalation around Iran in a phone call with Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Monday, the Kremlin said in a statement.

"Both sides expressed serious concern about the real risks of the conflict spreading, which has already affected the territories of a number of Arab countries and could have catastrophic consequences," the Kremlin said.

Putin told Mohammed bin Salman that there is an urgent need to resolve this "extremely dangerous situation" through political and diplomatic means.

In a separate call on Monday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov discussed Iranian crisis with his Saudi counterpart Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud.

"The ministers stressed that Russia and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia advocate for the immediate cessation of all hostilities and the adoption of priority measures to prevent attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure in both Iran and its neighbours," the Russian Foreign Ministry said.