Russia says will cooperate with MH17 probe led by Netherlands

Russia will cooperate with the investigation into the downing of a Malaysian airliner a week ago and is satisfied that the Netherlands, rather than Ukraine, is leading the effort, the country's ambassador to Malaysia said on Thursday.        

Liudmila Vorobyeva also rejected suggestions that the pro-Russian separatists blamed by Western governments for shooting down Flight MH17 possessed a Russian-made anti-aircraft missile, and said the rebels lacked the training to use such a system.         

Nearly 300 people, 193 of them Dutch citizens, were killed when the Malaysia Airlines plane en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur was brought down in eastern Ukraine, where separatists are battling government forces, on July 17.          

The norm under rules set down by the United Nation's civil aviation body (ICAO) is that an air investigation is led by the state in whose territory the plane crash, but Russia had said that Ukraine should not take charge because the rebels who control the crash site did not trust the authorities in Kiev.        

"We want an international investigation led by ICAO. Any country part of ICAO may take part. Netherlands has the right to lead this," the ambassador told Reuters in an interview in Kuala Lumpur. "We are members of ICAO, we will cooperate with the investigation."          

Vorobyeva said Russian experts were already participating in the investigation, although she did not say what role they were playing.          

"As soon as experts from ICAO and international experts have a part, we think it could lead to authentic results and the truth will come out," she said. 

Earlier on Thursday, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said it might take "weeks or months" before remains of his compatriots who perished in the shooting down of a Malaysian airliner over Ukraine can be brought home.         

Malaysia, a majority Muslim country, had initially sought to have the remains returned by July 28 for Hari Raya, also known as Eid al-Fitr, the festival marking the end of the fasting month of Ramadan.       

Forty-three Malaysians died aboard flight MH17 operating from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, including 15 crew. There were 193 Dutch nationals among the 298 people on board.          

"We cannot avoid a very painstaking process. This is both the technical requirement and the legal requirement," Najib told reporters after signing a condolences book at the Dutch embassy.      

"Therefore it is highly unlikely that the bodies can be brought back in time for Hari Raya."          

Two aircraft carrying remains of some of the passengers arrived in the Netherlands on Wednesday, where experts will work to identify them with DNA samples collected from relatives. The process could take months.          

The remains of the victims will be brought over the next few days to a military base in the Dutch town of Hilversum.