Moscow urged Iran to realize the risks of confrontational approaches to the situation in the Middle East, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Thursday.

Russia hopes that "Teheran realizes the danger of confrontational approaches and will demonstrated political foresight and pragmatism," the Foreign Ministry said in a release over the recent statement by the Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

On Wednesday, Ahmadinejad said that Israel would be "wiped off the map" at a conference in Tehran.

Meanwhile, Chairman of the Russian State Duma International Affairs Committee, Konstantin Kosachyov, expressed hope that the Iranian president will find an opportunity to explain his tough statement about Israel.

"I hope this was an emotional, rather than a planned statement and the Iranian president will find an opportunity to provide additional explanations soon and fully clarify the situation," Kosachyov told Interfax on Thursday.

Source: Xinhua