Russian Foreign Minister Sergey 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.

However, Russia also reiterated that it shares a common opinion with the United States that North Korea's nuclear arms program violates U.N. Security Council accords.

Lavrov and his Tillerson were "united in opinion" about the North Korea issue during the phone call initiated by the U.S., the statement said.

Russia and China have the relatively closest diplomatic relations with insular North Korea, which poses a nuclear threat to its neighbor South Korea and that country's allies Japan and the U.S.

Last week Russia and China voted in favor of a U.S.-proposed measure in the U.N. Security Council to impose additional economic sanctions on North Korea as part of an escalating effort to clamp down on that country's nuclear program.