KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysia said on Saturday that the United Nations General Assembly in New York next week is the "right platform" to seek justice for victims of flight MH17 which was shot down in Ukraine.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, who will address the assembly, would raise the matter with several leaders he would meet in New York, among them US President Barack Obama, Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott and Netherlands Prime Minister Mark Rutte, Bernama reported on Saturday, quoting Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein.
"We are on the right platform to demand justice and bring to book those responsible for downing the aircraft. No one can deny us this right. Let's wait for the developments at the United Nations," Mr Hishammuddin said.
Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 went down 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 was shot down over the troubled country, with no survivors.
In a United Nations Security Council (UNSC) meeting on Friday, Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Anifah Aman said Malaysia will not rest until justice is done against the perpetrators responsible for the downing of MH17.
"It would be totally unacceptable for the families and loved ones of the victims to experience the unimaginable pain of losing their loved ones, only to learn that the perpetrators might not be held to account, due to our inaction," he said at the UNSC meeting on Ukraine.
The international community, he said, needs to cooperate fully to establish accountability for the perpetrators of this crime, according to Bernama.
Forensic experts have identified a total of 225 victims, with 14 new names released to families, Dutch authorities said on Friday.
Last month forensics experts suspended their search for bodies due to clashes between Kiev and the pro-Russian rebels near the crash site north-east of Donetsk.
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said Friday it was still "too dangerous" for investigators to visit the site, and that the Dutch investigators left in Ukraine would return to the Netherlands.
