SINGAPORE, May 21. /TASS/. Malaysia notes positive steps towards justice for those guilty in the downing of the MH17 flight over Ukraine, Prime Minister Najib Razak said in a statement released on Saturday.
"I see that we have started on positive steps towards seeking justice for the family members and victims of MH17 when the Russian President and I reached an agreement (at a Russia-ASEAN summit in Sochi eds. TASS) that follow-up actions will be determined after results of the investigation are presented by the Joint Investigation Team in October," Najib Razak said quoted by the Star Online portal.
"I hope that the families can give the Government a chance and the time it needs to handle the issue and spearhead the call for justice through all processes in international law," he said.
Along with this, he said ""I understand and feel the sadness and pain experienced by the families of the victims" as he lost his close relative in the MH17 crash.
Earlier, Malaysian Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai said that Kuala Lumpur hoped for interaction with Moscow in the search for those guilty in shooting down the Boeing 777. "Agreements and cooperation with Russia are a good start for understanding what really happened to the plane," he said.
On Friday, Putin's press secretary Dmitry Peskov told TASS that Russian President Vladimir Putin and Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak had mentioned the MH17 crash over Ukraine during their talks. "It (this theme) was mentioned as that both the prime minister and president accentuated the need and readiness to conduct an unbiased and comprehensive investigation," Peskov said. Putin pointed out that "all the sides, including Ukraine, should share required information as it has not happened until now," he said.
A Boeing 777-200ER of Malaysia Airlines carrying 283 passengers from ten countries and fifteen crewmembers aboard crashed in the east of Ukraine’s Donetsk region on July 17, 2014, while en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur. All the people abroad died. On July 21, 2014 the UN Security Council demanded a thorough and unbiased investigation.
The versions of the tragedy most suggest it the misfortunate jet was brought down either by a surface-to-air or air-to-air missile. Kiev authorities and militias of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic have blamed each other for shooting down the airliner.