Moscow has expressed readiness to mediate between Iran and Saudi Arabia following Riyadh's severance of diplomatic ties with Tehran on Sunday, Reuters reported.
"As friends we would be ready to play, if it is demanded, an intermediary role in ... settling the existing contradictions and any new ones that arise between these two countries," Russia's state-owned agency RIA Novosti said, citing an anonymous source in the foreign ministry.
“We express sincere regrets over the escalation of tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran because we believe these two large Muslim countries are very influential in the region, on the global arena and on the oil market,” the source added.
Germany has also called for dialogue between Iran and Saudi Arabia to de-escalate tensions.
Saudi foreign minister Adel al-Jubeir announced the break in diplomatic ties with Iran following violent demonstrations in front of the Saudi embassy in Tehran. The protests came after the Shia cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, along with 46 others, was executed by Saudi Arabia.
Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Hossein Jaberi Ansari said that as long as Saudi Arabia "seeks tension," there is little possibility for reconciliation.
