MH17 crash: Putin promises peaceful solution in Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin Monday promised that his country would do everything possible to bring about a peaceful solution to the crisis in Ukraine but warned that nobody should use the Malaysian plane crash tragedy to pursue political goals.

In a statement, Putin said that the country would do everything to move the conflict in eastern Ukraine from the current military phase to the negotiating phase, with the parties using peaceful and diplomatic means alone.

"I believe that if military operations had not resumed in eastern Ukraine June 28, this tragedy probably could have been avoided," Putin said in the Kremlin press service statement.

Responding to the crash of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, Putin reiterated Russia’s stance with regard to the current situation in Ukraine and warned that no one should use the tragedy to pursue their own political goals.

Flight MH17, while flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, crashed Thursday afternoon in the conflict-hit Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine killing all 283 passengers and 15 crew on board.

According to reports, the indications are that the Boeing 777 crashed after being hit by a missile. US President Barack Obama said that initial investigations showed that the missile was fired from an area in Ukraine controlled by anti-Kiev militants.

Putin said the mere presence of representatives of Donetsk and Lugansk, as well as representatives of the emergencies ministry of Ukraine and others, is not enough.

“We need more, we need a fully representative group of experts to be working at the site under the guidance of ICAO, the relevant international commission,” Putin said.

We must do everything possible to ensure their complete and guaranteed safety and provide them with the humanitarian corridors they need for their work, Putin said.