Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his US counterpart on the crash of Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 in Ukraine.

The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) and other Ministers are in regular contact with international partners about the tragic crash of Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 in Ukraine.

On 18 July the Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron) spoke with President Obama about the MH17 incident. They discussed their respective assessments of the incident and agreed that an independent investigation was necessary. They agreed that all countries should engage to ensure that pro-Russian separatists granted investigators secure and unhindered access to the crash site and that those responsible must be held to account.

The Prime Minister spoke again to President Obama on 28 July, in a joint call with Chancellor Merkel of Germany, President Hollande of France and Prime Minister Renzi of Italy. The discussion focussed on the international response to the MH17 disaster and Russia’s ongoing efforts to destabilise Ukraine.

The UK and US joined other G7 nations in a joint statement issued on 30 July which condemned the tragic downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 and the deaths of 298 innocent civilians and demanded a prompt, full, unimpeded and transparent international investigation into the incident.