Former US secretary of state Hillary Clinton has said if Malaysia Airways flight MH17 was shot down by a surface-to-air missile as believed by US intelligence agencies, then "the equipment had to have come from Russia".
Hillary Clinton, the former US secretary of state, said in a television interview indications pointed at the Russian-backed side and action was needed to "put [Vladimir] Putin on notice that he has gone too far and we are not going to stand idly by".
Clinton said in an interview with Charlie Rose on the American PBS network: "The questions I'd be asking is, number one, who could have shot it down? Who had the equipment? It's obviously an anti-aircraft missile. Who could have had the expertise to do that? Because commercial airlines are big targets, but by the time they got over that part of Ukraine they should have been high, so it takes some planning [to target such a plane].
"Now, how we determine that will require some forensics, but then if there is evidence pointing in that direction, the equipment had to have come from Russia. What more the Russians may or may not have done, we don't know." - Clinton said.
If Russian separatists shot down Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 in Ukraine, it’s up to European countries to get tough on Russian President Vladimir Putin, Hillary Clinton said hours after the tragedy.
“The Europeans have to be the ones that take the lead on this,” the former secretary of state told Charlie Rose on Thursday. “It was a flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur over European territory - there should be outrage in European capitals.”
Both Russia and Ukraine have pointed their fingers at the other in spreading the blame for the downing of the civilian aircraft about 25 miles from the Russian border in Ukraine. The Boeing 777 plane, heading from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur with 298 people aboard, was struck by a surface-to-air missile fired from a Buk launcher as it cruised at about 33,000 feet.
Clinton said it appears the military equipment came from Russia, but “what more the Russians may or may not have done — we don’t know.”
“I think Putin is pushing the envelope as far as he thinks he can,” Clinton told Rose. “I think he obviously has annexed and occupied Crimea. He is willing to keep Ukraine unstable in order to try and intimidate the Ukrainian government to back off from their approach to the EU, and I think the only language he understands is one that is very tough, very patient, very clear.”
She said the American sanctions, announced Wednesday by President Obama, are the right step forward in pressuring Putin to stand down in the volatile region, but ultimately, European countries need to take accountability for what is taking place in their own backyard.
“If Russia keeps weighing in on behalf of the insurgents, there’s a lot more that needs to be done,” Clinton said, “and to put Putin on notice, that he has gone too far, and we are not going to stand idly by.”
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