DHAKA: Russia will cooperate with the investigation into the downing of a Malaysian airliner a week ago and is satisfied that the Netherlands, rather than Ukraine, is leading the effort.

The country’s ambassador to Malaysia said on Thursday, reports The Straits Times.

Liudmila Vorobyeva also rejected suggestions that the pro-Russian separatists blamed by Western governments for shooting down Flight MH17 possessed a Russian-made anti-aircraft missile, and said the rebels lacked the training to use such a system.

Nearly 300 people, 193 of them Dutch citizens, were killed when the Malaysia Airlines plane en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur was brought down in eastern Ukraine, where separatists are battling government forces, on July 17.

The norm under rules set down by the United Nation's civil aviation body (ICAO) is that an air investigation is led by the state in whose territory the plane crash, but Russia had said that Ukraine should not take charge because the rebels who control the crash site did not trust the authorities in Kiev.

‘We want an international investigation led by ICAO. Any country part of ICAO may take part. Netherlands has the right to lead this,’ the ambassador told media in an interview in Kuala Lumpur.

‘We are members of ICAO, we will cooperate with the investigation.’

Vorobyeva said Russian experts were already participating in the investigation, although she did not say what role they were playing.

‘As soon as experts from ICAO and international experts have a part, we think it could lead to authentic results and the truth will come out,’ she said.

BDST: 1832 HRS, JUL 24, 2014