KIEV, July 26 (RIA Novosti) – Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko in a telephone conversation with Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott expressed hope that the Ukrainian parliament will ratify the agreement allowing Australia’s police mission access to the MH17 crash site next week, the presidential press service said on Saturday.
“The President of Ukraine informed the Australian Prime Minister that the agreement had been signed yesterday afternoon and immediately submitted to the Ukrainian parliament. He also noted that he expected a speedy decision on the ratification of the agreement at an emergency session of the Verkhovna Rada next week,” the statement by the press service reads.
It was earlier reported that Australia’s authorities were planning to send 100 police officers to Ukraine to ensure security of experts investigating the circumstances of the tragedy that took place on July 17 near the city of Donetsk.
According to Abbott, this group will join another 90 officers who are currently waiting in London for a decision by the Ukrainian parliament.
The agreement elaborates that Australia may send to the crash site military, police or civilian personnel that can assist in the search for the plane debris and in the investigation, including a criminal one.
Australian representatives will be allowed to carry arms and use force for self-defense purposes.
Earlier on Saturday, 40 police officers from the Netherlands that are leading the investigation into the crash arrived in Kharkiv.
