Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Tuesday discussed the probe into Malaysian flight MH17 crash in Ukraine, as well as issues concerning arms control.

The two top diplomats, in a phone call, agreed to fairly implement the provisions of United Nations Security Council Resolution 2166, which envisaged a thorough and independent international investigation into the air crash that claimed all 298 lives on board, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Lavrov called on Washington to exert its influence on the Kiev authorities to facilitate a ceasefire and nationwide peace talks, it said.

The two also agreed to "take additional efforts to establish conditions for the implementation of the Geneva agreements" of April 17, when Russia, the United States, the European Union and Ukraine set tasks for ceasefire and constitutional reform, it said.

In addition, they have exchanged views on issues of arms control, "including in the context of compliance with the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty," said the statement.

U.S. President Barack Obama has reportedly warned Russian President Vladimir Putin that by testing a new cruise missile, Moscow was violating the INF treaty, which was signed in 1987 and barred the signatories from possessing, producing or flight- testing such cruise missiles with a range of 500 to 5,500 km.

Earlier on the day, Russia said Lavrov has been in contact with Kerry on various issues via phone, but no face-to-face talks were planned so far.

The ill-fated Malaysia Airlines passenger plane, a Boeing 777 airliner, went down on July 17 in the restive east of Ukraine. Although the Ukrainian government and insurgents in the eastern region have traded barbs over the downing of the plane, aviation experts have said it was too early to speculate on the causes before the international investigation ended. 

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