MELBOURNE: Australia’s Foreign Minister Julie Bishop has spoken to Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Asia-Europe economic summit in Italy about the downing of Malaysia Airlines’ Flight MH17 in July in eastern Ukraine, the Australian Associated Press reports.
They also discussed the dangers posed by the Islamic State (IS) and the upcoming G20 summit in Brisbane, in a 25-minute meeting.
Bishop said she received assurances from Putin that he would help facilitate access to the crash site for international investigators but could not confirm a timeframe in which the Russian president would act.
“I had a very detailed discussion with him. I expressed our concerns about the Malaysia Airlines crash,” Bishop was quoted by ABC News as saying.
“He said that he would seek to respond to my request by asking the separatists to provide that access.”
Bishop earlier met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to speak about the importance of open access to the MH17 crash site.
Flight MH17 crashed in eastern Ukraine on July 17 as it was flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur with 283 passengers and 15 crew on board. The Boeing 777-200 aircraft is believed to have been shot down over the troubled country.
Besides Malaysians, nationals from the Netherlands, Australia, Indonesia, the United Kingdom, Germany, Belgium, the Philippines, Canada and New Zealand were among the 298 passengers and crew on board.
Australia’s Prime Minister Tony Abbott earlier this week said he would “shirtfront” Putin at the G20 summit in Brisbane next month, prompting a stinging rebuke from senior Russian figures and political commentators.
Bishop said the issue was not raised directly.
Putin’s aides also confirmed to Bishop that the Russian leader plans to attend the G20 meeting. – BERNAMA