Putin, Xi 'strongly condemn' Israeli strikes on Iran, urge diplomatic solution

Moscow: Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on Thursday strongly condemned Israeli attacks on Iran in a phone call and stressed the need for a diplomatic solution, Moscow and Beijing said.

Israel has launched an unprecedented wave of strikes at Iran that prompted Tehran to respond with its own attacks with missiles and drones.

Putin and Xi "strongly condemn Israel's actions", Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters after the call.

He added that Moscow and Beijing believed the end to the hostilities "should be achieved exclusively by political and diplomatic means".

Xi told Putin that a ceasefire was the "top priority" and urged Israel to halt its attacks, Chinese state media reported.

"Promoting a ceasefire and cessation of hostilities is the top priority. Armed force is not the correct way to resolve international disputes," Xi said, according to China's state news agency Xinhua.

"Parties to the conflict, especially Israel, should cease hostilities as soon as possible to prevent a cyclical escalation and resolutely avoid the spillover of the war," he added.

Putin is pitching himself as a mediator between the warring sides.

Russia is close to Iran, having boosted military ties amid its offensive on Ukraine, but also strives for good relations with Israel.

Last week, Putin held phone calls with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, offering himself as a peacemaker.

The Kremlin said that Xi had spoken "in favour of such mediation, since he believes that it could serve to de-escalate the current situation", Ushakov said.

But Western leaders, including US President Donald Trump and France's Emmanuel Macron have pushed back against the idea of Putin trying to mediate the conflict amid his own Ukraine offensive.

"He actually offered to help mediate, I said: 'do me a favour, mediate your own'," Trump told reporters on Wednesday about Putin's efforts.

"Let's mediate Russia first, okay? I said, Vladimir, let's mediate Russia first, you can worry about this later."