Washington, July 19 – US President Barack Obama on Friday blamed Russia for the missile attack on Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 that killed 295 people. He called for an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine as well as a credible investigation into the crash.
Obama said one American citizen was killed in the attack. He said evidence suggested the plane was downed in an area that is controlled by Russian separatists. He said separatists had been getting Russian support in weapons and training.
“The separatists who shot down the MH17 plane have received a steady flow of weapons and training from Russia,” said Obama. “Plane shot down by surface-to-air missile from rebel held area. There has to be a credible international investigation into what happened,” he added.
Talking about his phone chat with Russian President Vladimir Putin he said the latter was not happy with the sanctions US imposed on Russia due to the Ukraine crisis. Criticising the leader, he said Putin failed to take Russia on a path of peace.
Obama also extended support to the Malaysian authorities. “We’ve already offered the support of the FBI and the national transportation safety board,” he said. Earlier, Ukraine’s ambassador to the U.N. also blamed Russia for providing support to the separatists.
Ambassador Yuriy Sergeyev said the downing of the Malaysian airliner would not have happened if Russia did not provide sophisticated anti-aircraft systems to separatist rebels.
He told an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council on Friday that communications and intercepts, photos and videos indicate that the rebels have at least two SA-11 missile systems. He added that detained rebels have told Ukraine that they also have a Buk missile system from Russia.
All 280 passengers and 15 crew members aboard the Amsterdam-to-Kuala Lumpur flight were killed in Thursday’s crash. U.S authorities and aviation experts say the Boeing 777 was likely brought down by a ground-to-air missile, but so far there is no proof of who fired it.
-INDIA TODAY
