Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov met with counterparts from Iran, Turkey and Lebanon ahead of a UN Security Council meeting on the burgeoning turmoil in the Middle East, Al Jazeera reports.

Lavrov and Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian agreed on the need for a swift ceasefire in Gaza and conditions for providing humanitarian assistance to civilians, Russia’s foreign ministry said.

“General concern was expressed about the tense situation in the Red Sea, which has sharply degraded,” it said.

According to the UN agenda, the Security Council is to discuss “the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question”. Lavrov said Russia will propose “collective efforts” to solve the Middle East crisis.