DHAKA: As Western leaders increasingly pointed the finger of blame at pro-Russian separatists, and Moscow itself, over the shooting down of a Malaysia Airlines plane in eastern Ukraine, the government in Kuala Lumpur said little.

The reasons for that reticence, which had drawn criticism at home, became clear on Tuesday, when Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak announced shortly after midnight that his government had negotiated the release of the remains of nearly 300 victims of Flight MH17 from separatist-held territory.

Najib, working through intermediaries to reach rebel leader Alexander Borodai, was a key figure in brokering the deal, according to two sources in Malaysia with direct knowledge of the negotiations.

The talks were kept under tight wraps, with Najib bringing only a handful of his closest confidants into the discussions.

‘The conversation was not initiated by Malaysia, but it was the Prime Minister's project," one of the sources said, reports The Straits Times.

‘He was the main player and he kept this within a very, very, very tight circle. Even some of his closest advisers were not part of this circle, and were surprised by this deal.’

The agreement was that Malaysia would receive the aircraft’s ‘black box’ voice and flight data recorders, which were in rebel hands after being recovered from the crash site near the Russian border.

BDST: 2021 HRS, JUL 22, 2014