KAZAN: Malaysia remains firm in its position to seek justice and resolution, particularly for the families and victims of the MH17 tragedy, says the Prime Minister’s political secretary, Muhammad Kamil Abdul Munim.
He said Malaysia must also act wisely in handling the issue.
Muhammad Kamil said the fact that the latest report by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), which found Russia responsible for downing Flight MH17, was released a day before Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s visit to Moscow must be taken into account.
“As the Prime Minister mentioned, this matter should not be politicised. At this point, what matters most is how we can find ways and means to resolve the crisis or issue that has arisen,” he told Malaysian media yesterday.
He noted that there had been calls for the Prime Minister to take a firm stand on the MH17 tragedy.
“In a closed-door meeting with President Vladimir Putin, the Prime Minister directly raised this issue,” he added.
On Tuesday, the United Nation aviation council ruled that Russia was responsible for the downing of a Malaysian airliner over Ukraine that killed all 298 passengers and crew, including 196 Dutch citizens and 38 Australian citizens or residents.
Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17, en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur on July 17, 2014, was shot down over eastern Ukraine amid intense fighting between pro-Russian separatists and Ukrainian forces.
On another matter, Muhammad Kamil described the first segment of the Prime Minister’s official visit to Russia as highly fruitful, with potential trade and investments of between US$5bil (RM21bil) and US$10bil (RM43bil).
During the visit to Moscow, Anwar also held meetings with industry players, with the halal industry as one of the sectors in focus, Muhammad Kamil said.
Moscow, which is the capital and the largest city of Russia, has a population of over 13 million people, and between 1.5 million and two million of them are Muslims.
“We see great potential for the next five years. If all goes well, we could see potential trade and investments between Malaysia and Russia,” Muhammad Kamil said.
