U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson takes part in a news conference with Canada's Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland (not shown) on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, December 19, 2017. REUTERS/Blair Gable

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Tuesday that “Washington’s aggressive rhetoric” had heightened tension on the Korean peninsula and was unacceptable, the Russian foreign ministry said.

In a phone call, the two men also discussed further steps towards resolving the Syrian crisis and the situation in Ukraine, it added.