Australia to Summon Russian Ambassador Over Crash: PM

Jakarta Globe, AFP & Reuters,  Jul 18, 2014

An armed pro-Russian separatist stands on part of the wreckage of the
 Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 plane after it crashed near the settlement of
 Grabovo in the Donetsk region of Ukraine on July 17, 2014. (Reuters
Photo/Maxim Zmeyev)

Sydney. Australia will on Friday summon the Russian ambassador over the crash of a Malaysia Airlines plane in Ukraine, with Prime Minister Tony Abbott saying it looked more like a crime than an accident.

Abbott said he owed it to the families of those on board, including 27 Australians, to find out exactly what happened to the aircraft which was traveling from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur.

“As things stand, this looks less like an accident than a crime,” he told parliament.

“And if so, the perpetrators must be brought to justice,” he added to cries of “hear, hear”.

He said it appeared that “Russian-backed rebels” were behind the shooting down of the Malaysia Airlines jet.

Ukraine’s state security chief has accused Russian military intelligence officers of involvement with pro-Russian rebels in the downing of the airliner on Thursday, but Western leaders have until now been less quick to assign blame.

Abbott blamed anti-Kiev separatists for shooting down the plane.

“This is a grim day for our country and it’s a grim day for our world. Malaysian airlines MH17 has been shot down over the eastern Ukraine, it seems by Russian-backed rebels,” he said.

Abbott said Australia would as quickly as possible work for a binding resolution at the United Nations Security Council calling for a full and impartial investigation.

This would require full access to the site, the debris, the black box and “all individuals who might be in a position to shed light on this terrible event”, he said.

“The minister for foreign affairs will shortly summon the Russian ambassador to seek a categoric assurance from the ambassador that the Russian government will fully cooperate in this investigation,” he said.

Abbott said a department of foreign affairs team would be departing soon for Kiev, and bodies would be repatriated as soon as possible.

“The bullying of small countries by big ones, the trampling of justice and decency in the pursuit of national aggrandizement, and reckless indifference to human life should have no place in our world,” he added.

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Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 crashes in east Ukraine