PM call with President Obama on flight MH17 disaster
The Prime Minister spoke to President Obama on 18 July about the MH17 disaster, Israel and Gaza and negotiations on Iran's nuclear programme.
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A Number 10 spokesperson said:
The Prime Minister spoke to President Obama this evening about the MH17 disaster. They discussed their respective assessments of the incident, including the increasing likelihood that the plane was brought down by a missile fired from territory controlled by the separatists. They both agreed that an independent investigation must get underway as soon as possible and that all countries should engage to ensure that pro-Russian separatists grant investigators secure and unhindered access to the crash site. Those responsible must be held to account.
They also discussed the further steps taken by the US and EU this week to make clear to Russia that there will be costs if they do not substantively engage in a peaceful resolution to the crisis and they agreed to keep up the pressure in the weeks ahead if there is no progress towards de-escalation.
They also discussed the situation in Israel and Gaza. Both leaders reiterated their support for Israel’s right to take proportionate action to defend itself from the barrage of rocket attacks from Gaza. Finally, they touched on the latest E3+3 negotiations in Vienna on Iran’s nuclear programme and agreed that we should keep up our efforts to negotiate a lasting agreement which gives the world confidence that the nuclear activities of Iran are exclusively for peaceful purposes.
Read more about the UK government response to the Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 disaster.