An F/A-18 fighter lands on the deck of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson during a South Korea-U.S. joint military exercise in seas east of the Korean Peninsula on March 14, 2017. (AFP Photo)
MOSCOW, Jan. 24 (Xinhua) -- Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson against the escalation of tensions on the Korean Peninsula by using aggressive rhetoric, including threats of a naval blockade, in a phone conversation Wednesday.
The two top diplomats agreed that the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) should strictly comply with the requirements of the UN Security Council, which has repeatedly condemned its nuclear and missile tests, according to a Russian Foreign Ministry statement.
Lavrov drew Tillerson's attention to the readiness for dialogue demonstrated by Pyongyang. He also called for resolving the conflict solely through diplomatic methods, including taking into account the proposal supported by both Beijing and Moscow that the DPRK stop nuclear and missile tests while Washington and Seoul put military exercises on hold.
They also discussed the process of Syrian settlement, including the situation in northern regions of the Middle East country as well as preparations for the Vienna talks on Syria and the Syrian National Dialogue Congress in Sochi.
Lavrov stressed that only the Syrian people have the right to determine the future of their country.