Russia has expressed hope that efforts to de-escalate the Iran conflict will bear fruit, saying the US should also contribute by “abandoning the language of ultimatums and returning the situation to a negotiating track,” Reuters reports.

The Russian Foreign Ministry statement was issued after a conversation between Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi.

It said both sides “called for efforts to avoid actions, including in the UN Security Council, that could undermine the remaining chances for advancing political and diplomatic efforts to resolve the crisis.”

Russia, it said, backed efforts to de-escalate tensions “in the interests of long-term and sustainable normalisation of the situation in the Middle East, which would be facilitated by the United States abandoning the language of ultimatums and returning the situation to a negotiating track.”