Court of international opinion shames Moscow over MH17

RUSSIAN President Vladimir Putin suffered his first defeat in the court of international opinion when Russia joined in the unanimous adoption of a UN Security Council resolution demanding access to the wreckage of MH17 shot down over eastern Ukraine.

After stonewalling European leaders and claiming Ukraine, not Russia, had ­responsibility for the region, the former KGB chief bowed to the view of Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott that Russia needed to support his call for an independent international investigation. The resolution calls for pro-Russia separatists to allow ­access to the crash site and ­demands they do not disturb debris, belongings or victims’ remains. All 15 Security Council members voted for the Australian-proposed resolution, co-sponsored by nine other countries that had lost citizens in the massacre. Initially, European nations were reluctant to confront Mr Putin, but after Mr Abbott spoke with him in a 3am call on Monday, followed by talks with UK Prime Minister David Cameron, French President Francois Hollande, Ukraine President Petro Poroshenko and US President Barack Obama, it was apparent Mr Putin had little option but to accept the resolution. Even so, the Russian ambassador to the UN, Vitaly Churkin, pushed for changes until the last, ­insisting the International Civil Aviation Organisation, rather than Ukrainian authorities, lead the investigation. The final resolution fell short of that demand, but in an effort to assuage veto-wielding Russia, it included wording changes that played up the participation of the ICAO, a UN agency. “I hope that Russia will now feel its responsibility, act on its responsibility. If it doesn’t, it’s going to have an increasingly isolated position in the international world,” Dutch Foreign Minister Frans Timmer-mans said. US Ambassador Samantha Power rebuked Russia, saying a Security Council resolution would not have been necessary had Russia pushed the rebels from the start to allow unimpeded access to the site. “Russia’s silence since (the crash) sent a message to the ­illegal armed groups it supports: We have your backs,” Ms Power said. “We are not naive: if Russia is not part of the solution, it will continue to be part of the problem.” Foreign Minister Julie ­Bishop said the resolution was an “unambiguous ­response from the international community to an utterly ­deplorable act”. She later ­accused Russia of not doing enough to help to secure the crash site for investigators. “Russia had influence over the separatists. And Russia could have enforced an appropriate crash site and created the conditions for this investigation to be carried out immediately,” Ms Bishop said.