Masoud Pezeshkian (left) and Vladimir Putin meet ahead of the Commonwealth of Independent States summit in Turkmenistan. (EPA Images pic)

ASHGABAT: Russia's president Vladimir Putin vowed on Thursday to "do everything" to help end the Middle East war when he met Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian for talks ahead of a regional summit, Russian media reported.

The leaders of two of the world's most sanctioned nations met after arriving in Turkmenistan for a summit of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) that starts on Friday in the Caspian Sea resort of Avaza.

"We are ready to do everything that is in our power to contribute to the settlement of this situation," said Putin.

He added that Iran had made "real efforts to end the war" since US-Israeli attacks started on Feb 28, according to Russian news agencies.