US stops short of blaming Russia
The shooting down of Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 is a wake-up call for the West write Anton Zverev and Jeff Mason.
US PRESIDENT Barack Obama said the downing of a Malaysian jetliner in a Ukrainian region controlled by Russian-backed rebels should be a ‘‘ wake- up call for Europe and the world’’ in a crisis that appears to be at a turning point, and warned Russia of possible tightening of sanctions.
While stopping short of blaming Russia for the crash of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17, which killed all 298 people aboard, Obama accused Moscow of failing to stop the violence that made it possible to shoot down the plane. The US said the jetliner was hit by a surface- to- air missile fired from rebel territory.
A senior US official said there was increasing confidence that the missile was fired by separatists, fighting for what they call Donetsk People’s Republic, and that there was no reason to doubt the validity of a widely circulated audiotape in which voices identified as separatists discussed the downing of the plane.
‘‘This certainly will be a wake-up call for Europe and the world that there are consequences to an escalating conflict in eastern Ukraine; that it is not going to be localised, it is not going to be contained,’’ Obama said yesterday.
Obama spoke by phone later with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, British Prime Minister David Cameron and Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott. The White House said they discussed Ukraine and the downed jet and the need for an unimpeded inter- national investigation. Obama ruled out military intervention, but was prepared to tighten sanctions.
Russia, which Obama said was letting the rebels bring in weapons, has expressed anger at implications it was to blame, saying people should not prejudge the outcome of any inquiry into the deadliest attack on a commercial airliner, which left bodies scattered over miles of rebel-held territory near the border with Russia.
The scale of the disaster could prove a turning point for international pressure to resolve the crisis in Ukraine, which has killed hundreds since pro- Western protests toppled the Moscowbacked president in Kiev in Febru- ary and Russia annexed the Crimea peninsula a month later.
‘‘ This outrageous event underscores that it is time for peace and security to be restored in Ukraine,’’ Obama said, adding that Russia had failed to use its influence to curb rebel violence.
While the West has imposed sanctions on Russia over Ukraine, the United aggressive Union.
Analysts say the response of Germany and other EU powers to the incident – possibly imposing more sanctions – could be crucial in deciding the next phase of the standoff with Moscow. Some commentators even recalled States than has been more the European Germany’s sinking of the Atlantic liner Lusitania in 1915, which helped push the United States into World War I, but outrage in the West at the carnage is not seen as leading to military intervention.
The UN Security Council called for a ‘‘full, thorough and independent international investigation’’ into the downing of the plane and ‘‘ appropriate accountability’’ for those responsible.
The German Chancellor said it was too early to decide on further sanctions before it was known exactly what had happened to the plane. Britain took a similar line but later echoed Obama in pointing the finger at the separatists.
Kiev and Moscow immediately blamed each other for the disaster, triggering a new phase in their propaganda war.
The plane crashed about 40km from the border with Russia near the regional capital of Donetsk, an area that is a stronghold of rebels who have been fighting Ukrainian government forces and have brought down military aircraft. Rebel leaders denied any involvement and said a Ukrainian air force jet had brought down the plane.
Russia’s Defence Ministry later laid the blame with Ukrainian ground forces, saying it had picked up radar activity from a Ukrainian missile system south of Donetsk when the airliner was brought down, Russian media reported.
The Ukrainian security council said no missiles had been fired from its armouries. Officials also accused separatists of moving unused missiles into Russia after the incident.
The Ukrainian government released recordings it said were of Russian intelligence officers discussing the shooting down of a civilian airliner by rebels who may have mistaken it for a Ukrainian military plane.