ANKARA, March 5 (Xinhua) -- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan held a phone call with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron on Thursday, stressing that the spread of conflicts to the Middle East region is "unacceptable."
During the phone call, Erdogan told Macron that Türkiye is closely monitoring developments in Iran, expressing sorrow over civilian deaths and concern about their potential increase, the Turkish presidency said in a statement.
Erdogan said that the prolonged conflict in Iran would be "a source of instability for both the region and the world," adding that Türkiye is making intensive efforts to strengthen the diplomatic ground and return to negotiations.
The Turkish president also emphasized the need to increase defense cooperation among NATO allies.
The phone call comes amid sharply heightened tensions following a joint U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran on Saturday and subsequent retaliatory missile and drone launches by Tehran toward Israel and U.S. assets across the Middle East.
The Turkish Defense Ministry announced on Wednesday that a ballistic projectile allegedly launched from Iran was successfully intercepted by NATO air and missile defense units deployed in the Eastern Mediterranean. ■
