Merkel says Ukraine truce needed, Russia needs to push for peace

BERLIN (Reuters) - Moscow must take responsibility for advancing a peace process in Ukraine, where a truce is needed to allow an investigation into the crash of an airliner close to the Russian border, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Friday.

For the West, there was no alternative to seeking dialogue with Putin over Ukraine, Merkel told a news conference in Berlin, adding that it was too soon to make any decisions about imposing tougher sanctions against Russia. There are many indications that the Malaysian Airlines Boeing 777 plane was shot down, and the perpetrators must be bought to justice and an independent investigation started as quickly as possible, she said.