Russian President Vladimir Putin warned on Sunday that the standoff in Egypt between supporters and foes of deposed president Mohammed Morsi threatened to degenerate into a civil war.

"Syria is already in the grip of a civil war, unfortunately enough, and Egypt is moving in that direction," Russian news agencies quoted Putin as saying while on a visit to Kazakhstan.

"We would like to see the Egyptian people avoid this fate," he said.

The Russian Foreign Ministry has previously called on all sides in the political crisis to exercise "restraint."

AFP