“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 warned against efforts to force a regime change in Iran and said it would react “very negatively” if Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei were killed, raising concerns of a broader escalation in the Israel-Iran conflict as European leaders came together with Iran on Friday for a diplomatic meeting.