7 Aug 2014 14:47

Moscow, Cairo concerned about escalation of tension in Gaza - Kremlin

MOSCOW. Aug 7 (Interfax) - Russian President Vladimir Putin and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi shared serious concerns about the escalation of tensions in the Gaza Strip in a telephone conversation on Thursday, the Kremlin press service reported.

"The Russian president highly praised efforts Egypt is making to help normalize the situation, including the organization of direct contacts between the Palestinians and Israelis for this purpose," it said.

"Amid the deterioration of the crisis in Libya, the two heads of state spoke in favor of encouraging national dialogue for resolving disagreements by political methods," it said.

Putin and el-Sisi also discussed the situation in Iraq.