Abbott Calls on Russia to Cooperate With Dutch MH17 Probe – The Economist

Australia expects Russia to fully cooperate with a Dutch-led investigation into the shooting down of a Malaysian passenger jet over Ukraine, Prime Minister Tony Abbott said.
“We owe it to our dead to secure justice and Russia, as a member of the international community, owes it to the world, owes it to humanity to ensure that justice is done,” Abbott said at a news conference in Canberra today with his Dutch counterpart Mark Rutte.
Australia has accused Russia of supplying the weapons that separatist rebels used to shoot down Malaysian Airline System Bhd. (MAS) Flight 17 in Ukraine in July, killing 298 people including 196 Dutch citizens and 38 Australians. Abbott said last month that he would use the Nov. 15-16 Group of 20 meeting in Brisbane to confront Russian President Vladimir Putin for his nation’s alleged support of the rebels.
“We will do everything we can to bring those responsible to justice,” Rutte said today. “Many people of high caliber are working on this on both sides of the world, to get to the bottom of this.”
Rutte said he spoke with Putin last month and asked him to put pressure on the separatists to allow investigators access to the crash site. He declined to comment on the probe’s progress, saying it shouldn’t be compromised by political interference.
Abbott today said he expects to speak with Putin in the coming week or so. There was no new evidence to contradict initial security agency advice that pro-Russian rebels were responsible for bringing down the plane, he said.

Продолжение здесь: IPnews

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