On January 4, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov had a telephone conversation with Foreign Minister of Turkey Mevlut Cavusoglu.

The ministers discussed the situation around the assassination of Qasem Soleimani, Commander of the special-task Quds Force of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, who was killed by the US military on January 3, 2019 in Baghdad.

Sergey Lavrov stressed that this US action was a grave violation of the fundamental standards of international law and does not contribute to achieving the counter-terrorist goals declared by Washington.

The parties expressed concern over the potential serious consequences of the US action for peace and stability in the Middle East.

The ministers also covered the Syrian settlement and the state of affairs in Libya in the context of preparing for upcoming top-level contacts.