Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions his Department has had with the Russian government on the aircraft from that country which crashed in Egypt on 31 October 2015.

The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), spoke with Foreign Minister Lavrov by telephone shortly after the crash to convey our deepest condolences for the tragic loss of life. The Prime Minister also spoke twice with President Putin on the telephone in the days after the crash, to offer any help we could provide and to set out our assessment of the likely cause of the crash. The Prime Minister, my right hon. Friend the Member for Witney (Mr Cameron) subsequently met President Putin at the G20 meeting in Antalya on 16 November, and offered our assistance in relation to aviation security. We have followed up at senior official level with further options for practical cooperation and coordination.