28th Jul 2014 11:24
Amsterdam (Alliance News) - Fighting in the area around the Malaysia Airlines crash site in eastern Ukraine prevented a team of unarmed Dutch and Australian police officers from reaching the wreckage for a second consecutive day Monday.
The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe said "security reasons" led to their convoy turning back to the city of Donetsk.
A visit by the Dutch and Australian teams to secure the debris site and collect remaining bodies was also cancelled on Sunday due to reports of fighting.
The foiled attempts came after Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak announced at the weekend that a deal had been struck with the pro-Russian separatists to give international police forces access to the scene where all 298 people on board flight MH17 died when the Boeing 777 was shot down by surface-to-air missiles on July 17.
There were 194 Dutch citizens, 43 Malaysian citizens and 37 Australian nationals and residents on board when it went down near Ukraine's border with Russia, while en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur.
In Geneva, UN human rights chief Navi Pillay said the shooting down of the airliner could be viewed as a war crime and must therefore be investigated in a thorough, independent and impartial manner.
"This violation of international law, given the prevailing circumstances, may amount to a war crime," the UN high commissioner for human rights said.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov repeated calls for an investigation under the auspices of the United Nations and said it should begin as soon as possible. He added that a UN force would have the necessary security to conduct such an investigation.
Lavrov and his US counterpart John Kerry had earlier released a joint call for a ceasefire in the area.
The US, Ukraine and European countries have accused the Moscow-backed rebels of firing at the passenger plane, alleging there is also evidence to suggest Russian-made missiles were used in the downing.
Japan is to impose additional sanctions on Russia, the Japanese government said Monday.
Japan will freeze assets held by individuals or groups considered to be directly involved in Russia's annexation of Crimea or the instability in Ukraine, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told a news conference.
The EU, meanwhile, was expected to pave the way for yet another round of sanctions against Russia for its role in the Ukraine crisis.
Diplomats said EU ambassadors will hold talks in the late afternoon on blacklisting for the first time people from Russian President Vladimir Putin's inner circle, with travel bans and asset freezes under consideration.
"The cronies of Mr Putin and his clique in the Kremlin are the people who have to bear the pressure," British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond had said in an interview with British broadcasters last week.
"Because it is only them feeling the pressure that will in turn put pressure on the Russian government," he added.
Any decision by the ambassadors would be finalized on Tuesday. Separate measures to restrict investment in the Russian-annexed peninsula of Crimea are also under consideration.
On Tuesday, the ambassadors are then expected to deliberate over unprecedented economic sanctions against Russia.
The EU had so far shied away from such measures amid fears of repercussions for its own economy. But the crash of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 appears to have tipped the scales.
Copyright dpa