Merkel calls for immediate ceasefire to enable probe

Caution governed the responses of European governments following the deaths of all 298 people aboard Malaysian Airlines MH17, after the plane was shot down in eastern Ukraine.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel led calls for an immediate ceasefire in eastern Ukraine to enable independent investigators to carry out a thorough probe into what led to the downing of the plane on Thursday, in the region of the country currently controlled by rebel forces.

Europeans formed the majority of those on board the Boeing 777 from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur. At least 173 Dutch citizens were among those on board, alongside 44 Malaysians, 28 Australians, 12 Indonesians, nine Britons, four Germans and four Belgians.

Few leaders have been willing to take the stance of Ukrainian President Petro Prosshenko who has pointed the finger directly at the separatists. “Today terrorists killed three hundred people with one shot. Among them innocent children, people of many countries of the world,” he said, in an address following the crash. “This is a wake-up call for the whole world.”

“A lot is still unclear about the cause, the circumstances and the passengers,” said Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, who returned home from a holiday he had just begun, to deal with the crisis. The Government ordered the national flag to be flown at half-mast in government buildings and embassies across the world. Britain too struck a note of caution, as its foreign secretary Philip Hammond called for a UN-led investigation. “We believe the United Nations, particularly the United Nations Civil Aviation Organisation, is the right body to lead that investigation.” Prime Minister David Cameron called on those responsible to be held to account.

Going forward European leaders are likely to face a challenging balancing act in tackling relations with Russia. “They are going to come under pressure, though the perspective in Western Europe has been that it is necessary to keep the channels open. Any solution has to involve Russia,” says Carsten Nickel, a Western European analyst at Teneo Intelligence, noting the effectiveness of German and French efforts to coordinating a cross-European approach, encompassing Eastern European countries, including Poland.

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