KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak will travel to the Netherlands on Wednesday to discuss the downed Malaysia Airlines jet with his Dutch counterpart.
Najib said in a statement Saturday that in particular, he will discuss with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte whether “Malaysian pathologists can be of assistance in expediting the process of identifying the human remains.”
The two leaders also will discuss securing full access to the crash site, the statement said, adding that Najib will visit the forensic center.
There were 193 Dutch and 43 Malaysians on Flight 17 when it was shot down in eastern Ukraine on July 17 en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, killing all 298 people on board. The plane crashed in territory controlled by pro-Russia rebels, and the separatists have been blamed by many in the international community for shooting it down.
Najib reached an agreement with rebel leader Alexander Borodai on Monday to secure the handing over of the plane’s black boxes and the remains of the victims, as well as to ensure safe access to the crash site.
“The first two conditions have been met,” Najib said. “My priority now is to ensure the third part of the deal is honored, and that international investigators are given full and secure access to the site. This will require the cooperation of those in control of the crash site and the Ukrainian armed forces.”
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