Cameron: Turn Flight 17 outrage into action

British Prime Minister David Cameron on Sunday wrote that outrage over the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 over eastern Ukraine must be turned into action.

{mosads} Cameron wrote in The Sunday Times that “the growing weight of evidence points to a clear conclusion: that flight MH17 was blown out of the sky by a surface-to-air missile fired from a rebel-held area.”

“If this is the case then we must be clear what it means: this is a direct result of Russia destabilising a sovereign state, violating its territorial integrity, backing thuggish militias and training and arming them,” he added.

Ten British citizens and 24 Australians died in the crash, he wrote.

“We must turn this moment of outrage into a moment of action. Action to find those who committed this crime and bring them to justice. But this goes much wider than justice,” Cameron wrote.

“In Europe we should not need to be reminded of the consequences of turning a blind eye when big countries bully smaller countries,” he added. “We should not need reminding of the consequences of letting the doctrine of ‘might is right’ prevail. We should not need to be reminded of the lessons of European history.”

“If President Putin does not change his approach to Ukraine, then Europe and the West must fundamentally change our approach to Russia,” Cameron wrote.

The British prime minister called for immediate access to the crash site and a halt to Russian aid to the rebels.

“Finally, we must establish proper long-term relationships between Ukraine and the European Union; between Ukraine and Russia; and, above all, between Russia and the European Union, Nato and the wider West,” he wrote.

“What form that relationship takes rests on how Russia responds to this appalling tragedy. Russia can use this moment to find a path out of this festering, dangerous crisis. I hope it will do so. But if that does not happen then we must respond robustly,” Cameron added

NATO’s relationship with Russia will take center stage at a summit in Wales in six weeks, Cameron wrote.

“It is up to Russia which path that relationship now takes,” he wrote.

Cameron also tweeted the he spoke to German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who was also concerned about limited access to the crash site. Russian President Vladimir Putin “must do more,” Cameron said.