MOSCOW, May 8. /TASS/. Foreign Ministers Sergey Lavrov of Russia and Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud of Saudi Arabia have called for preventing further escalation around the Strait of Hormuz and restoring the navigation regime as it used to be before late February, the Russian foreign ministry said after their phone call.

"The sides focused on the situation in and around the Strait of Hormuz. Both sides expressed the position in favor of preventing a return to escalation and the need to continue ongoing diplomatic contacts in order to reach a sustainable long-term agreement on all aspects of resolving the crisis as soon as possible," the ministry said. "Special focus was made on the need for restoring the free navigation regime as it used to be before late February."

The ministers noted "the expediency of resuming efforts toward an all-round long-term normalization of relations between Iran and Arab monarchies," it said. "The Russian side reiterated its readiness to promote progress on these tracks with due account of the interests of all parties concerned."