Obama Hints pro-Moscow Rebels behind Malaysian Jet Downing as U.N. Security Council Urges 'Full' Probe
U.S. President Barack Obama hinted Friday that a Malaysian passenger plane flying over eastern Ukraine was shot down by pro-Moscow separatists, as the U.N. Security Council demanded a full, independent and international probe into the deadly incident.
At a press conference, Obama said a missile fired from rebel-held territory in Ukraine downed the Malaysian jet as he pressed for an international investigation.
He added that at least one U.S. citizen was among the 298 dead. The State Department identified the victim as Quinn Lucas Schansman, who also held Dutch nationality.
"Their deaths are an outrage of unspeakable proportions," Obama told reporters.
"Evidence indicates that the plane was shot down by a surface-to-air missile that was launched from an area that is controlled by Russian-backed separatists inside of Ukraine," Obama said.
Obama, while saying he was waiting for the full picture, highlighted that the pro-Russian rebels have in the past downed Ukrainian military aircraft.
The U.S. president, who earlier this week ramped up sanctions on Russia over the conflict, called on Russian President Vladimir Putin to "take the path that would result in peace in Ukraine."
"I think it's important for us to recognize that this outrageous event underscored that it is time for peace and security to be restored in Ukraine," Obama said.
"Now is, I think, a somber, appropriate time for all of us to step back and take a hard look at what has happened. Violence and conflict inevitably lead to unforeseen consequences," he added.
Earlier on Friday, the members of the U.N. Security Council unanimously called for a "full, thorough and independent international investigation into the (plane) incident in accordance with international civil aviation guidelines and for appropriate accountability."
Also on Friday, Ukraine's prime minister said that pro-Russian separatist rebels, which Kiev believes shot down the Malaysian airliner, should face an international tribunal in The Hague.
"Yesterday's terrible tragedy has altered our lives. The Russians went too far," Interfax-Ukraine quoted Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk as saying.
"This is an international crime for which they should face an international tribunal in The Hague."
For his part, Russian President Vladimir Putin called for an urgent settlement of the Ukraine crisis as he expressed condolences to Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte over the Malaysian jet crash.
"The head of Russia stressed that the tragedy once again highlighted the need for an urgent peaceful settlement of the most acute crisis in Ukraine and noted there is a need for a thorough and objective investigation of the air crash," the Kremlin said in a statement after Putin spoke with Rutte by phone.
Of the 298 crash victims, 154 were from The Netherlands.
Later on Friday, Putin said he was in touch with his Ukrainian counterpart Petro Poroshenko and expressed hope that a solution to the crisis could soon be found.
"We are in contact with Ukrainian President Pyotr Alekseyevich Poroshenko," Putin said at a meeting with the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, using the Russian version of the Ukrainian leader's name.
"And I hope that he will manage to offer all the people of the whole of entire Ukraine, all people wherever they live, a way for events to develop that would lead to final, complete and long-term peace on this land," Putin said, Russian news agencies reported.
Meanwhile, an AFP crew saw around 30 observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) granted partial access by rebels to the disaster site.
The OSCE team -- which was already on the ground monitoring the fighting in Ukraine -- said they were not there to investigate the causes of the crash but to make sure the perimeters of the site were secured and oversee the handling of the victims' remains.
Ukraine released recordings of what they said was an intercepted call between an insurgent commander and a Russian intelligence officer as they realized they had shot down a passenger liner.
However the rebels accused the Ukrainian military of shooting down the plane and Russia's defense ministry said Friday it had data indicating that a Ukrainian missile system was operating in the area.
Source: Agence France Presse
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