U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov (sir-GAY' lahv-RAWF') have spoken on the telephone in an effort to ease U.S.-Russian tensions over Syria, North Korea and Ukraine.

The call comes less than 24 hours after Tillerson accused Russia of being responsible for chemical weapons attacks in Syria — a charge that draw a furious response from Moscow.

The State Department and the Russian ministry say the diplomats discussed their countries' roles in the crises.

The chemical weapons allegations weren't mentioned in either account of the conversation.

The State Department says the pair discussed Russia's role in pressing Syrian President Bashar Assad's government to participate in U.N.-led peace talks.

The Russian account says they talked about preparing for the next round of U.N. talks.