West should not rush to blame Russia for downed airline — China

China’s state news agency warned on Friday (18/07/2014) against rushing to implicate Russia in the downing of a Malaysian airliner over eastern Ukraine, but said those responsible must be brought to justice for the “intolerable terrorist attack“.

World leaders demanded an international investigation after the airliner was downed with 298 people on board in a tragedy that could mark a pivotal moment in the worst crisis between Russia and the West since the Cold War. There were no survivors.

Two US officials said Washington strongly suspected the Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 was downed by a sophisticated surface-to-air missile fired by Ukrainian separatists backed by Moscow.

The official Xinhua news agency said in an English-language commentary that officials from the United States, Australia and other Western countries had jumped to conclusions in pointing their fingers at the rebels in eastern Ukraine and for blaming Russia for the escalating violence.

“The accusation was apparently rash when the officials acknowledged they did not know for the time being who is responsible for the attack, while condemning Russia’s military intervention,” Xinhua said.

The news agency said the top priority at the moment was to co-operate to “find out the real culprits, if any“. - Reuters