“If the Middle East is unstable, the world will not be at peace,” Chinese President Xi Jinping said Thursday. “If the conflict escalates further, not only will the conflicting parties suffer greater losses, but regional countries will also suffer greatly.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin made the following comments at a plenary session of the St Petersburg International Economic Forum on Friday.

Russia's role in the Israel-Iran crisis is constrained by its war in Ukraine and desire to re-engage the Trump administration. But Moscow could get some benefits from letting Tehran down.