VIENNA, July 18 (RIA Novosti) — Ukraine, Russia and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) will meet in Kiev on Friday to discuss measures to be taken after Thursday’s Malaysia Airlines crash in Ukraine.
"On behalf of Ambassador [Heidi] Tagliavini, I can confirm that the contact group will meet today to discuss next steps," Swiss OSCE chairmanship spokesman Roland Bless told RIA Novosti.
The three-party contact group held a video meeting with eastern Ukraine independence supporters on Thursday evening. Independence supporters fighting Ukrainian troops in the area vowed to ensure access to the crash site and offered security guarantees for international investigators and OSCE monitors.
A Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur crashed near the town of Torez in the Donetsk Region on Thursday, killing all the 283 passengers and 15 crew members on board.
Ukraine’s state-run air traffic operator Ukraerorukh announced that leading international experts would be engaged to clarify the circumstances of the tragedy.
Russia's Emergencies Ministry said Thursday it had filed an official request to its Ukrainian colleagues to conduct joint works at the crash site.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called for a full, transparent international investigation and said he was following closely every report on the accident together with the International Civil Aviation Organization.
