Russia, Turkey, and Afghanistan, among other states, urged Pakistan and Iran, two neighboring countries that are brothers, to exercise greatest caution and resolve their disputes via diplomacy in order to calm current tensions and prevent further escalation.
Along their thinly populated borders, nuclear-armed Pakistan and neighboring Iran are fighting smoldering insurgencies.
After a missile strike that was launched by Iran without warning in the “Green Mountain” region of Balochistan maimed three girls and killed two youngsters, tensions between the two nations erupted.
The “unprovoked” attack was sharply denounced by Pakistan’s Foreign Office, which claimed that Tehran had infringed on the nation’s sovereignty.
In the meantime, Pakistan launched an attack overnight in retaliation to the strikes that Iran said targeted a militant organization, killing many militant targets who lived in the Iranian border region.
“Show maximum restraint and solve their differences through diplomacy or risk playing into the hands of those who would like to see the region descend into chaos,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova urged Islamabad and Tehran in a statement.
The two nations are members of the “Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO),” an organization that Russia assisted in founding, according to a spokeswoman for the Russian foreign ministry.
“It is unfortunate that friendly SCO nations, with whom we are forging partnership ties, are experiencing this.
“Those who are not interested in peace, stability, and security in the region benefit from further escalation of the situation,” Zakharova stated.
She also stated that any counterterrorism operation on the sovereign territory of another nation had to be coordinated and agreed upon with their authorities.
Following an increase in regional tensions, Turkey’s foreign ministry also urged Pakistan and Iran to exercise moderation and common sense.
“We believe the problems should be resolved with an understanding of friendship and brotherhood, based on mutual respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the countries,” the ministry stated in a statement.
