US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson telephoned on Saturday Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to discuss the situation in war-torn Syria.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said on Sunday that the two officials addressed how the “anti-terrorism” battle on the ground was playing out.

The call came after US-backed forces in Syria claimed that they were shelled by Syrian regime and Russian jets in the Deir al-Zour region.

The Russian Foreign Ministry did not say in its statement about the Lavrov-Tillerson call if the two men had discussed that allegation and how Moscow had responded if they had.

Earlier, media sources said that a Russian warship, part of the Black Sea fleet, had crossed Turkey’s Bosphorus Strait and headed towards the Mediterranean.

The Yamal was destined to Syria’s Tartus.

Images of the warship as it crossed the Turkish waterway were published on various websites.

The sources said that it was loaded to capacity with cargo based on its incline in the water.

This is the eighth trip the Yamal makes to Syria in 2017.

According to the RT news agency and other foreign press, the ship usually transports ammunition to the Russian air force deployed a the Hmeimim Air Base in Syria.