Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov have spoken by phone to discuss the “current situation in the Middle East”, according to Beijing’s ambassador to the UN, Al Jazeera reports.

“Wang Yi said that as permanent members of the UN Security Council, China and Russia should uphold fairness on matters of right and wrong, adopt an objective and balanced approach, and strive for greater understanding and support from the international community,” Fu Cong said in a post on X.

“At present, the situation in the Middle East continues to deteriorate, and the fighting is still escalating,” Fu added.

“The fundamental way to address navigation in the Strait of Hormuz is to achieve a ceasefire and end the fighting as soon as possible.”

Fu also said that Lavrov had expressed Moscow’s concern about the continuing escalation and its contention that “military operations must cease immediately”.