The Arab Democrat The Latest From The Arab World
Related Articles
On Friday, the UN Security Council demanded a full, international and independent probe into the reported shooting down of a Malaysian Airlines jet over Ukraine, with all the 298 passengers on board reported dead.
“The members of the Security Council called for a full, thorough and independent international investigation into the incident in accordance with international civil aviation guidelines and for appropriate accountability”, the council said after a unanimous decision.
Earlier in the day, Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk said that pro-Russian separatists, which Ukraine believes shot down the jet, should be looked into by an international tribunal at the International Court of Justice at The Hague.
“Yesterday’s terrible tragedy has altered our lives. The Russians went too far.This is an international crime for which they should face an international tribunal in The Hague”, Yatsenyuk said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin appealed for settlement of the Ukrainian crisis and expressed his condolences to Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte regarding the Malaysian aircraft. 154 of the 298 crash victims were from the Netherlands.
“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.
Later on Friday, the Russian President said that he had spoken with his Ukrainian counterpart Petro Poroshenko and said that there is a chance that a solution to the crisis will be reached soon.
“We are in contact with Ukrainian President Pyotr Alekseyevich Poroshenko.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 after meeting with Patriarch Kirill, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, using the Russian variant of Poroshenko’s name.
