"Middle East issues require urgent resolution. Together we need to make sure the situation does not become worse," Lavrov said during a meeting with US Secretary of State John Kerry in Rome.
Kerry thanked the Russian foreign minister for making changes to his schedule and finding time to come to Rome and meet with the US official.
On Friday, according to US State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki, Lavrov and Kerry discussed in a telephone conversation recent developments in Israel.
The Russian foreign minister and the US secretary of state previously met in early December at the 21st OSCE Ministerial Council in Basel, Switzerland. At the time, they already discussed issues concerning the Middle East, such as Syrian crisis and the campaign against the Islamic State extremist group.
