Kyiv rejects Russian version of plane crash:
Ukraine has reacted to Russia's version of how Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 was downed over eastern Ukraine on July 17, saying Moscow appears to be trying to "disown this tragedy."
The spokesman for Ukraine's Security Council, Andriy Lysenko, said on July 21 that evidence suggested the missile that brought down the plane "was fired by terrorists who received arms and specialists from the Russian Federation."
Russian Defense Ministry official General Andrei Kartapolov said earlier on July 21 that Ukrainian government forces had moved air defense systems into the area from which the missile originated and that a Ukrainian government warplane was in the area around the time the airliner was shot down, hinting Ukraine might be responsible.
Lysenko said, "To disown this tragedy, the [Russians] are drawing a lot of pictures and maps." (Reuters, ITAR-TASS, and Interfax)
U.S. President Barack Obama says of the Malaysian plane crash that accountability must exist in the investigation and international investigators must have immediate and full access to crash site.
Obama says international teams are ready to conduct the investigation but Russian-backed separatists are blocking those efforts.
Also, from Reuters:
Obama says it's time for Russia and Putin to pivot away from the strategy they have taken in Ukraine.
Further backing for the Ukrainian separatists, he says, will only further isolate Russia and costs will only increase.
Obama adds that a diplomatic solution can still be found in Ukraine.
"Financial Times" carries a photo that appears to show signs of a missile hit on Flight MH17, saying "three experts confirm FT picture indicates signs of shrapnel damage."
Here are some direct quotes from Obama's appearance today asserting that the "burden is on Russia" to allow international investigators to access the crash site, courtesy of our VOA colleagues:
"Given its direct influence over the separatists, Russia and President Putin in particular has direct responsibility to compel them to cooperate with the investigation. That is the least that they can do.
"Russia has extraordinary influence over these separatists. No one denies that. Russia has urged them on, Russia has trained them. We know that Russia has armed them with military equipment and weapons, including anti-aircraft weapons.
"We have to make sure the truth is out, and that accountability exists."
"The burden now is on Russia to insist that the separatists stop tampering with the evidence, grant investigators who are already on the ground immediate, full, and unimpeded access to the crash site."
"Now is the time for Pres. Putin and Russia to pivot away from the strategy they've been taking and get serious about trying to resolve hostilities with Ukraine in a way that respects Ukraine's sovereignty and respects the right of the Ukrainian people to make decisions about their own lives."
"As investigators approached, they fired their weapons into the air. These separatists are removing evidence from the crash site, all of which begs the question, what exactly are they trying to hide?"
Reuters quotes an eyewitness saying the train carrying victims of the MH17 crash has set off from the separatist-held town of Torez.
Russian and international agencies say Russia's Foreign Ministry has summoned Latvian Ambassador Astra Kurme to express "outrage" over Latvia's denial of entry to three Russian entertainers.
Earlier, Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics previously said Oleg Gazmanov, Iosif Kobzon, and Alla Perfilova (known as Valeriya) were blacklisted over their pro-Kremlin stance on the Ukraine crisis.
Rinkevics called the singers "the most active propagandists" to "aggressively" support Russia's annexation of Crimea.
The singers were due to perform at the New Wave contest, an annual televised event in Latvia's Jurmala seaside resort that draws crowds and competitors from across the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).