The British families of the Flight MH17 crash victims have pleaded with David
Cameron for help in bringing the bodies of “all our boys and girls home” as
the European Union imposed the toughest sanctions on Russia since the Cold
War.
In a meeting in Downing Street, the father of one victim said he was “angry
and frustrated” that his son’s body has not been repatriated 12 days after
his death.
The EU
imposed sanctions including the targeting of state-owned banks, an
arms embargo and restrictions on the sale of sensitive technology. Mr
Cameron warned of further sanctions unless Vladimir Putin, the Russian
president, stopped his “unacceptable behaviour”. The US is expected to
announce its own new sanctions.
But there was disquiet as it emerged that the City of London will suffer while German manufacturers and a £1 billion French contract to supply warships to Russia are protected. Mr Cameron said the measures would “make it absolutely clear” that Mr Putin’s continued support for Russian separatists in Ukraine is “unacceptable”. For a third day, Dutch and Australian forensic specialists were unable to reach the crash site because of continued fighting. Mr Cameron met the families of seven of the 10 British victims of Flight MH17 and “expressed his condolences and those of the whole country”, a spokesman said. Barry and Angela Sweeney were still waiting to learn whether the body of their son Liam, 28, has been recovered. Mr Sweeney, 52, of Killingworth, North Tyneside, said: “It would be nice if they could just stop fighting for a little bit so that we could get all our boys and girls home. I’ve got to say Mr Cameron was very humble. He answered every question that was asked of him, he brought a few experts in to talk about the crash sites and how the airplane might have come down. We basically asked Mr Cameron for help.” Downing St said that 15 British police officers are working with the Dutch to identify and repatriate the bodies. A spokesman said: “He made clear that the Government was determined to do all it can to support them over the coming difficult months.” Under the new sanctions, the City and other markets will be banned from selling bonds and equities owned by state-owned Russian banks. The EU will target eight new individuals with asset freezes and travel bans, including four “cronies close to Vladimir Putin’s inner circle”. But it exempted a £1 billion French contract to supply two warships to Russia from an arms embargo. It also exempted the gas sector from any embargo on exporting technology, protecting German manufacturing President Barack Obama announced that US was imposing its own sanctions on the Russian energy sector and on defence and finance firms. "If Russia continues on its current path the cost on Russia will continue to grow. Today is a reminder that the United States means what it says," Mr Obama said at the White House. He praised Europe for "stepping up the way they have today" after initial reluctance to impose strong sanctions, saying it was a sign of the "waning patience Europe has with nice words from President Putin that are not matched by actions". However, he denied that the US and Russia were locked in "a new Cold War" and talked down the prospect of America supplying the Ukrainian military with lethal support. The sanctions prevent new loans to three Russian banks, freezes the assets of a ship-building firm and blocks sale of certain technologies to the Russian energy sector. · The British Airline Pilots Association has called on the Government to ensure passenger safety after an industry meeting failed to produce advice on flying over war zones. |
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