KUALA LUMPUR (Bernama) -- Russia will assist the Malaysian government in 'all possible ways' in the case of the Malaysia Airlines (MAS) Flight MH17 crash in eastern Ukraine, Russian Ambassador to Malaysia, Lyudmila G. Vorobyeva, said Monday.
She said her country appreciated the Malaysian government's desire to find out how the 'awful tragedy' occurred, and not simply point fingers at any party.
"In Russia, we sympathise deeply with Malaysia, the families and people who lost their relatives and loved ones. We are very appreciative of the Malaysian government's position, that is not to blame and not to point fingers and try to find out the facts.
"As such, Russia will give cooperation to the Malaysian government fully and we will do all we can to assist the government in these hard times," she told Bernama after an exclusive interview with BernamaTV on the 'Bernama Today' programme.
Vorobyeva was speaking on the crash of the MAS Boeing 777-200ER in the Donetsk region in Ukraine while on a flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur last Thursday.
Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Abdul Razak said on Friday the Ukrainian authorities believed that Flight MH17, carrying 298 passengers and crew, was shot down.
In the BernamaTV interview, Vorobyeva said that as for now the Russian government was talking with several parties to provide security measures at the crash site.
"We are asking the Kiev government and the leaders of this (Donetsk) region to ensure that all the security measures are in place so that the expert team can reach the crash site," she said, adding that Russian influence was limited as the plane crashed in Ukraine territory.
She pointed out, however, that the involvement of an international commission led by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) was indeed important for the investigation.
"According to the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) observers at the crash site, the rebels are cooperating in a positive way, providing all necessary conditions for the foreign and international teams to come.
"However, the rest depends on Kiev authorities," she said.
Asked how Russia reacted to the blame hurled by the global community, Vorobyeva said accusations should not be made until the facts were revealed through the investigation.
"The facts could only be established through investigations done by the international experts. That is what Russia is asking for. Only after the investigations, can any accusation be made," she said.
Vorobyeva claimed that the current internal crisis in Ukraine was a possible cause of the tragedy.
She said it was important for the rival parties in Ukraine to reach a peaceful solution, as stated by Russian President Vladimir Putin yesterday.
"If the fight and the bloodshed on June 28 (between pro-Russia separatists and Ukrainian government forces) had been stopped, the (MH17) tragedy would have never occurred," she said.
She stressed that the tragedy should not divide people, but instead unite people in order to find a solution to prevent similar cases from recurring in the future.
The ambassador also conveyed her condolences to the families of the crash victims.
-- BERNAMA
