A senior Russian foreign ministry source has reportedly told the RIA news agency that Moscow's track record in Syria shows it is the right country to mediate between Saudi Arabia and Iran, The Independent reported.

"As friends we would be ready to play, if it is demanded, an intermediary role in ... settling the existing contradictions and any new ones that arise between these two countries," the diplomat said.

Citing the context of "finding a political solution in Syria", the diplomat said Russia had already successfully got both Iran and Saudi Arabia around the negotiating table in relation to that conflict in Vienna.

Russia is a long-standing ally of Iran in the region, but its relationship with Saudi Arabia is altogether less friendly.

Nonetheless, Vladimir Putin held a range of talks with the Saudi King Salman and the kingdom's defence minister late last year and the diplomat told RIA that Russia "has the credibility of both Saudi Arabia and Iran".

On Monday morning, news reports on the escalating Middle East row from state-run Sputnik International quoted Washington as calling for "affirmative steps to calm tensions".

But it also quoted a source close to the Saudi government who said "the Saudis really don't care if they anger the White House".

Source: MENA