MH17: Ukraine president Petro Poroshenko faces first 'international crisis'

Less than two months in office, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, was tested with what has been described as 'the biggest crime against humanity in the history of modern aviation.'

The Malaysia Airlines MH17 tragedy, where 298 lives were lost when it was shot down over eastern Ukraine, gave Poroshenko his first international crisis.

"My first reaction was complete shock. I am the commander in chief of our armed forces and I know there is no Ukrainian plane, aircraft system in the area."

"Immediately, I did several important steps within a few hours after the tragedy. I called the Prime Minister of Malaysia, the Netherlands and all the nations that suffered the most," Poroshenko told Bernama in an exclusive interview in conjunction with his three-day official visit to Malaysia beginning Wednesday.

Elaborating on the government of Ukraine's willingness to cooperate, Poroshenko said that from the beginning, his side has conveyed their openness for absolute transparent investigation to find those responsible for the disastrous attack.

The country also initiated an unprecedented step when Poroshenko proposed that all nations, which suffered in the attack, should take part in the investigation.

"The Netherlands, the nation that suffered the most from this terroristic attack will take responsibility (to lead the investigation) and we make this decision only upon the acceptance of all the nations involved," he explained.

After 15-month of investigation, the Dutch Safety Board (DSB) team comprising Malaysia, Ukraine, the UK, the US, Australia and Russia released a technical report last year, which concluded that the airliner was shot down by a Russian-made surface-to-air BUK missile while cruising at 33,000 ft over rebel-held eastern Ukraine.

Meanwhile, the criminal aspect of the tragedy is being investigated by the Joint Investigation Team (JIT), which comprises the Netherlands, Malaysia, Belgium, Ukraine and Australia. The result is expected at the end of this year.

The Boeing B777 aircraft tragedy was one of the main issues discussed during Poroshenko's first official visit to Malaysia. Both countries also affirmed their commitment to find out the truth and bring the perpetrators to justice.

Elaborating on his discussion with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, the president said that both leaders would use every possible mechanisms to punish the country and person responsible for the attack, including through the International Criminal Court (ICC).

"ICC is one of the possible option. We should keep the door open for every opportunity to make the person responsible be in prison including the ICC, the international tribunal and the Security Council mechanism," said the 50-year-old president.

During the meeting, Najib said that after the JIT report is published, the five countries would meet again and agree on the next course of action.

Touching on recent terrorism attacks by the so called Islamic State (IS), also known as Daish, which have become global threat, Poroshenko stressed that no specific religion should be blamed.

"My position is very simple and straightforward. Terrorism has no nationality, religion, symbol or item," he opined, while noting that effectiveness in security forces is crucial to curb such threat.

Poroshenko pointed out that Ukraine has successfully stopped 300 terrorism attempts, which mostly targetted its Anti-Terrorist Operation Zone (ATO) in the Donbass region, as well as parts of Donetsk and Luhansk.