Kuala Lumpur, July 31 — Prime Minister Najib Razak today called for warring factions in Ukraine to respect the lives lost in the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 so that investigations can continue and the remains of the 298 victims can be sent home.
“We ask that there be an immediate cessation of hostilities in and around the crash site – by both Ukrainian and separatist forces,” he said in a stark message delivered in the Netherlands as intermittent skirmishes at the crash site hampered investigations and recovery efforts.
International investigators have not been able to access the area and the human remains that may still lie there, in the heat of a European summer two weeks after the Malaysian jetliner crashed.
“The conflict in Eastern Ukraine may not be easily resolved. But the people on board that plane had no part in it,” Najib said .
According to news agency, AFP, Kiev today announced a day-long halt to its deadly offensive to oust pro-Russian rebels in east Ukraine in an effort to allow the investigators to access the site.
It quoted Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte as saying that Malaysia and the Netherlands shared three priorities, namely to bring home the victims’ remains and belongings, determining the cause of the disaster and ensuring the perpetrators are brought to justice.
