Russia has maintained a delicate balancing act in the Middle East for decades, trying to navigate its warm relations with Israel even as it has developed strong economic and military ties with Iran.

An ally of Russian president Vladimir Putin has said that "a full-scale war" in the Middle East is possible following Israel's airstrikes on Iran. Israel launched a series of airstrikes across Iran early Friday,

U.S. President Donald Trump said he had a phone call with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Saturday over the tensions in the Middle East and Russia-Ukraine peace talks, and both of them agreed that “this war in Israel-Iran should end.