Australia presses Russia on MH17 probe

TRADE Minister Andrew Robb has raised MH17 with his Russian counterpart, while Queensland’s Premier says Vladimir Putin may not be welcome for the G20.

TRADE Minister Andrew Robb has told his Russian counterpart Australia expects a full and independent investigation into the downing of the Malaysian airlines flight over Ukraine that killed 28 Australians.

Their meeting last night came as Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said she had not been given access to speak with Russian foreign ministers.

As Australia and other nations continued today to press Moscow for full co-operation in investigating the crash of MH17, Queensland’s Premier said Russian President Vladimir Putin would be unwelcome at this year’s G20 conference in Brisbane unless he altered his position. Seven Queenslanders were among 298 killed - including 28 Australains - when the Malaysia Airlines plane was shot down in eastern Ukraine, near the Russian border.

Suspicion has fallen on Russian-backed rebels armed with Russian artillery, but Mr Putin has said Ukraine bears responsibility for the crash. He has blamed that country’s crackdown on separatist rebels for stoking tensions.

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Yesterday Tony Abbott stopped short of declaring Mr Putin unwelcome at the November G20 leaders summit in Brisbane, telling reporters he would wait and see what transpired.

But Premier Campbell Newman said Mr Putin would only be welcome at the G20 if he and the Russian government fully co-operated with an international investigation.

Mr Newman’s comments follow reports that investigators were blocked from the crash site by pro-Russian separatists.

“Queenslanders, I think, would expect Mr Putin and the Russian government to fully co-operate with this independent, international investigation,” Mr Newman told the Nine Network.

“If we start seeing them failing to co-operate - we’ve heard that they’re not providing access at this time - if that continues, I think I can speak for all Queenslanders and say at that point he’s probably not welcome.”

Mr Robb met Russian Economic Development Minister Alexy Ulyukayeu as he arrived in Sydney last night for a Group of 20 trade ministers meeting.

Mr Robb told Mr Ulyukayeu Australia expected Russia to push for a cessation of hostilities in Ukraine to enable access to the site for investigators from the victims’s countries.

Mr Ulyukayeu told Mr Robb he would pass Australia’s concerns to the Russian Prime Minister.

However he hedged on the question of whether Russia could exert influence on the pro-Russian separatists believed to be responsible for the atrocity.

Mr Robb said it was too early to begin contemplating trade sanctions against Russia.

He said the priority in the short-term was to ensure that the families of the victims received all the support they required.

About 30 officials, mostly from the Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe, arrived at the crash site today between the villages of Rozsypne and Grabove, about 40km from the Russian border.

Pre-Russia rebels controlling the site allowed the team to perform a very partial and superficial inspection.

While the delegation was leaving under orders from the armed overseers, two Ukrainian members lingered to look at a fragment of the plane by a roadside, only for a militiaman to fire a warning shot in the air with his Kalashnikov.

The delegation left after about 75 minutes.

Both Mr Abbott and Ms Bishop have also said they expect Moscow to co-operate fully with international investigators.

The Prime Minister yesterday strongly rejected Russia’s protests of innocence over the downing of the MH17.

“This is not an accident, it’s a crime, and criminals should not be allowed to get away with what they’ve done,” Mr Abbott told parliament.

He said it was highly probable that Flight MH17 was shot down by a pro-Russian separatist-controlled ­surface-to-air missile.

He said Australia took a very dim view of countries that facili­tated the killing of its citizens.

“These were innocent people going about their lives and they have been wantonly killed by ­Russian-backed rebels quite possibly, maybe probably, using Russian-supplied equipment,” Mr Abbott said.

“Hopefully the Russians will realise that their whole standing in the world is at risk here.”

ABBOTT: Russian response ‘deeply unsatisfactory’

Ms Bishop told the ABC’s Lateline program last night that she had not been able to speak with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov as he was on holiday and could not be contacted for some time.

“I then asked to speak to a deputy or a vice minister, but I’ve now been told that I won’t be able to speak to anybody in the ministry of foreign affairs in Moscow,” she said.

“There was no time set. I was just told that a phone call was not possible.”

Ms Bishop said that response was “extraordinary ... given that in my conversation with the Russian ambassador I sought full cooperation from Russia”.

Eleven DFAT officials have been sent to Ukraine and a liaison official had been allocated the family of each dead Australian.

An Australian Federal Police officer had been sent to Kiev to begin discussions on Australia’s role in the investigation.

Mr Abbott said there would be mourning for the victims who were aboard MH17 around the nation and flags would fly at half-mast.

He and Governor-General Peter Cosgrove would also attend a church service today.

Additional reporting: agencies