Muslims offer Eid al-Adha prayers in Jammu, Indian-controlled Kashmir on Aug. 12, 2019. (Str/Xinhua)

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov hopes Pakistan and India could ease tensions on Kashmir by political and diplomatic means.

MOSCOW, Aug. 14 (Xinhua) -- Russia emphasized Wednesday the need to de-escalate the Pakistan-India tensions on Kashmir, stating that there is no alternative to political and diplomatic means to resolve the disputes.

The message was conveyed by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in a phone conversation with his Pakistani counterpart Shah Mehmood Qureshi, according to a Russian Foreign Ministry statement.

The two foreign ministers discussed the situation in the Himalayan region amid worsening relations between Pakistan and India after New Delhi decided to unilaterally change the legal status of Kashmir, according to the statement.

The tensions between India and Pakistan increased following India's move on Aug. 5 to revoke the "special status" of India-controlled Kashmir and split it into two Union territories. The move sparked outrage from Pakistan, which then downgraded its diplomatic relations with India, expelled the Indian high commissioner, and suspended trade.

The situation in Kashmir, a mountainous stretch that lies in the north of the South Asian subcontinent, has become tense since earlier this year after Pakistan and India exchanged airstrikes for the first time in decades.