Malaysia Demands Protection of MH17 Crash Site as Merkel, Putin Agree on International Probe in Disaster

Malaysia issued an impassioned plea Saturday for the MH17 disaster site in Ukraine to be protected from tampering, saying evidence was being compromised in what it called a "betrayal of the lives that were lost."

Concerns are mounting over the integrity of the crash zone in rebel-held eastern Ukraine, with the government in Kiev on Saturday accusing Moscow of helping pro-Russian separatist insurgents destroy evidence.

"Malaysia is deeply concerned that the crash site has not been properly secured," Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai told reporters.

"The integrity of the site has been compromised, and there are indications that vital evidence has not been preserved in place."

Ukraine says the rebels shot down the Malaysian Airlines plane Thursday, killing all 298 aboard.

Liow, who leaves for Kiev later Saturday to join Malaysian officials already there in hopes of assisting an investigation, called "for all parties to protect the integrity of the crash site, and to allow the investigation to proceed".

A Ukraine government statement said pro-Russia rebels had removed 38 bodies to a morgue in the insurgent-controlled city of Donetsk where "specialists with clearly Russian accents" were to conduct autopsies.

It also said separatist forces were blocking access to the site for Ukrainian investigators and international observers.

"Terrorists with the support of Russia are trying to destroy proof of this international crime," it said.

An Agence France Presse crew at the scene of the crash Saturday said that armed rebels were preventing journalists from accessing the site and shot in the air to warn them back.

"Failure to stop such interference would be a betrayal of the lives that were lost," Liow said.

Malaysia Airlines on Saturday released what it called a final tally of those killed, saying 192 Dutch nationals, 44 Malaysians, and 27 Australians were among the dead.

Smaller numbers of Indonesians, Britons, Germans, Belgians, and other nationalities also were aboard.

A Malaysian team including two air accident investigators arrived in Kiev earlier Saturday, hours after Prime Minister Najib Razak appealed for access to the MH17 crash.

Najib said he spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin by phone late Friday to stress that "the site should not be tampered (with)," national news agency Bernama reported.

The United States has said the Boeing 777 was shot down by a missile fired from rebel-held territory, a possible casualty of Ukraine's battle with pro-Russia insurgents.

The disaster has deeply shocked Malaysia, still grappling with the trauma of the unexplained March 8 disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 with 239 passengers and crew aboard, including 38 Malaysians.

"Wrong target, who committed this atrocity?" leading Malay-language daily Utusan Malaysia said of MH17 on its front page Saturday, echoing the tone of most leading newspapers and Malaysian social media chatter.

In an address to his nation late Friday, Najib demanded justice if it is determined that the plane was shot down, condemning what he called an "inhumane, uncivilized, violent and irresponsible act".

He said the Muslim-majority country would hold an emergency sitting of parliament -- expected Wednesday -- to vent Malaysian anger over the disaster, and that all flags in the country would be flown at half-mast.

"Of course there is anger. Why must this happen only to us (in) Malaysia? I really feel like beating that Russian, Vladimir Putin," said Mohamad Shidee Mohamad Ghazali, 28, a welder with the state utility company Tenaga Nasional.

Civil servant Nor Azizah Johar, 31, said her childhood friend Mohamad Ali Mohamad Salim was aboard the flight. They had planned to meet up during the coming Eid al-Fitr Islamic holiday.

"I am shocked that such an incident can happen," she said.

"I leave it to Allah. What can we do? We are just pawns in this issue."

Stunned world leaders have urged a full investigation, which could further fan the flames of Russia's confrontation with Ukraine, the worst East-West crisis since the Cold War, if pro-Russian rebels are found responsible.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Putin have agreed for an international investigation into the downing of the Malaysian plane over Ukraine, Berlin said on Saturday.

The two leaders, who spoke on the telephone, "agreed that an international, independent commission under the direction of ICAO (U.N.'s International Civil Aviation Organization) should quickly have access to the site of the accident... to shed light on the circumstances of the crash and move the victims," said a German government statement.

A Kremlin statement on the same phone call said that "both sides stressed the importance of a thorough and objective investigation of all circumstances relating to what has happened" and said Merkel gave a "positive assessment of Russia's readiness to send its representative to participate in the investigation."

The two leaders also agreed that a contact group comprising Ukraine, Russia and the OSCE should meet "quickly" with the aim of reaching a ceasefire in the conflict between Kiev and the pro-Moscow rebels in eastern Ukraine, said the German government statement.

"The chancellor once again asked President Putin to exercise his influence over the separatists in order to reach this objective," it said.

In a possible barrier to further talks, however, the Kremlin statement said the contact group should include separatist representatives, a move opposed by Kiev.

In a related matter, Britain on Saturday piled pressure on Russia over the Malaysian plane crash, saying it was not providing enough support, while adding that the EU's approach to Moscow now had to change.

London said Russia was not exerting enough influence over pro-Moscow separatists in eastern Ukraine to get them to allow international access to the crash site.

Meanwhile in a phone call, Prime Minister David Cameron and his Dutch counterpart Mark Rutte "agreed that the EU will need to reconsider its approach to Russia in light of evidence that pro-Russian separatists brought down the plane," a Downing Street spokeswoman said.

British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond chaired a government meeting on the disaster.

"We're not getting enough support from the Russians, we're not seeing Russia using their influence effectively enough to get the separatists, who are in control of the site, to allow the access that we need," he told reporters afterwards.

"This is not about Russia and the West -- this is about the whole community demanding that the proper access is made available to this site, the victims are properly recovered and evidence is secured.

"The world's eyes will be on Russia to see if she delivers on her obligations in the next couple of hours.

"We are demanding that the Russians use their influence to ensure that access is granted. That's the only way we can get to the truth and bring those accountable to justice."

He said it was clear that monitors at the crash site had not been given full access by the separatists, and some areas were not possible to reach at all.

"Our focus now is on securing the site so there is a proper international investigation to identify the cause and the perpetrators and bring them to justice and making sure the victims are dealt with proper dignity and respect."

Russia's ambassador to London has been called into the Foreign Office to put these points in person.

Cameron held separate telephone calls with Rutte and to Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott.

All three were clear that Putin "needs to actively engage with the international community and use his influence on the separatists to ensure they allow access to the crash site," a Downing Street spokeswoman said.

Britain and Australia will work together "to secure further pressure at the U.N. Security Council for swift and unhindered access to the crash site", the spokeswoman said.

Six specialists from Britain's Air Accidents Investigation Branch are in Ukraine, as part of the international effort to investigate the crash.

British police experts are due to arrive in Ukraine on Sunday to assist with the recovery, identification and repatriation of those killed.

Rutte, meanwhile, said after a "very intense" conversation with the Russian president that Putin must act to allow access to the Ukranian rebel-held crash site of flight MH17 so bodies can be removed.

"He (Putin) must now take responsibility vis-a-vis the rebels," Rutte told journalists in The Hague after pro-Russian separatists hindered access to the crash site where 298 died in Thursday's plane crash, 192 of them Dutch.

"The Netherlands and the world will see that he does what needs to be done," Rutte said.

"Given today's developments and the images from this morning, I sent a message to the president to once more exert his influence on the rebels," Rutte added.

"Everyone saw how the plane wreckage, the passengers and the personal belongings are still spread around the site.

"He (Putin) promised me his cooperation yesterday.

"I told him that he must show the world that he wants to help."

Rutte said he was "shocked" by news images of "shameless" rebels handling passenger possessions and walking around the crash site.

Rutte said that he had spoken to Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott and Merkel and that they also said Putin must act.

"Unimpeded access and quick recuperation of the bodies is the number one priority," Rutte said.

As well, the French and Ukrainian presidents said Saturday that any obstruction preventing international investigators reaching the crash site of flight MH17 will "not be tolerated".

Following a phone call with his Ukrainian counterpart Petro Poroshenko, President Francois Hollande said the two had agreed "on the importance of establishing the facts" of what happened to the Malaysian Airlines plane, which crashed in the rebel-held east of Ukraine on Thursday, killing all 298 on board.

"To this end, no obstruction to the work of the international observers from the ICAO (the United Nations' International Civil Aviation Organization) will be tolerated," they said in a statement released by the Elysee palace.

U.S. President Barack Obama said Friday that the Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur flight was shot down by a missile launched from an area controlled by Russian-backed separatists in Ukraine.