MH17: All eyes on Russia as UN meets in New York
On the train to New York where the UN Security Council meeting is due in a few hours for an emergency session on the downing of MH17 – a meeting Britain has requested.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon has already expressed his condolences and has described a clear need for a “full and transparent international investigation”.
All eyes are on Russia amongst the permanent security council members, but amongst the 10 non-permanent member countries, on Australia, which has lost 28 people.
The Dutch ambassador to the UN is tweeting pics of a spontaneous memorial outside their mission saying “Thank you New York”.
Deeply impressed by spontaneous memorial in front of our Mission for victims #MH17 . Thank you #NewYork citizens. pic.twitter.com/eysuhzFTYC
— Karel van Oosterom (@KvanOosterom) July 18, 2014
The strongest lines from the US political world comes from Vice President Joe Biden who last night declared it “no accident” saying instead the plane was “blown out of the sky”.
And this came from the White House: “While we do not yet have all the facts, we do know that this incident occurred in the context of a crisis in Ukraine that is fueled by Russian support for the separatists, including through arms, materiel, and training. This incident only highlights the urgency with which we continue to urge Russia to immediately take concrete steps to de-escalate the situation in Ukraine and to support a sustainable cease-fire and path toward peace that the Ukrainian government has consistently put forward.”
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