Tillerson, Lavrov begin tense meeting

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has opened his tense meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov by saying he aims to clear up "sharp differences" between the countries.

Tillerson and Lavrov are meeting in Moscow amid rising tensions over Syria.

Lavrov said on Wednesday Russia had lots of questions about the "very ambiguous" and "contradictory" ideas coming from the US.

He said through a translator it was important for Russia to understand the "real intentions" of the Trump administration.

Tillerson said he wants to understand why US-Russia differences exist.

He said both countries had agreed that their lines of communications must stay open.