Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov speaks during a joint news conference with French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian following their meeting in Moscow, Russia June 20, 2017. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told his U.S. counterpart Rex Tillerson on Thursday that new sanctions imposed by Washington on Russia would damage relations between the two countries, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

“Actions of this kind, put the entire sphere of Russian-American relations at serious risk,” the ministry quoted Lavrov as saying in a phone call with Tillerson.

Lavrov said Moscow was still waiting for a U.S. response to earlier proposals to improve ties, and Washington’s latest actions in Syria violated the sovereignty of the Arab country.