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Russia, Iran presidents discuss Middle East conflict on phone

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The presidents of Russia and Iran discussed the situation in the Middle East in a telephone conversation Friday, the Kremlin press service said in a statement.
MOSCOW, August 11 (RIA Novosti) - The presidents of Russia and Iran discussed the situation in the Middle East in a telephone conversation Friday, the Kremlin press service said in a statement.

The month-old conflict between Lebanese radical group Hizbollah and Israel has claimed the lives over 1,000 Lebanese, mostly civilians, and forced about a quarter of the country's population to flee their homes. About 120 Israelis, most of them soldiers, have also lost their lives in the fighting.

Vladimir Putin and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad "discussed the current situation in the Middle East," the statement said. "In this regard both presidents agreed that the situation in Lebanon and in the whole region had escalated further."

Putin told his Iranian counterpart about Russian diplomatic efforts to end the bloodshed, the statement said.

Israel accuses Iran of supplying arms to Hizbollah, a charge that the Islamic Republic denies.

Russia submitted to the UN Security Council Friday a draft resolution on Lebanon, calling for an immediate and complete ceasefire for 72 hours.

Vitaly Churkin, Russia's ambassador to the UN, said earlier the Russian delegation had decided to initiate a three-day "humanitarian ceasefire" as no consensus had been reached on a resolution drafted by France and the United States on ending hostilities or principles of a sustainable political settlement.

Earlier in the day, Muslim countries called on the UN Human Rights Council to investigate "atrocities" and what they called the deliberate killing of civilians by the Israeli military in Lebanon.

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