Russia, US favour ICAO's leading role in MH17 probe

Russia and the US Saturday agreed that the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) should be guaranteed leading role in investigating the Malaysian plane (MH17) crash in Ukraine.

Both sides agreed as Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State John Kerry held telephonic discussion over the matter.

"In the course of a frank, straightforward discussion, the minister and the secretary ... agreed on the main point - the need for an absolutely unbiased, independent and open international investigation into the crash of the Malaysian airliner," Xinhua quoted Russian foreign ministry as saying in a statement citing the conversation.

The two sides agreed that "all evidence, including flight data recorders, should be made available for examination as part of an international investigation and that all necessary conditions should be created on the ground to ensure access for the international team of experts", it added.

Earlier in the day, Russian President Vladimir Putin and German Chancellor Angela Merkel emphasised the importance of a "thorough and impartial" investigation into all circumstances of the Thursday's crash in eastern Ukraine, which claimed all 298 lives on board.