ASSESSMENTS

After Malaysian Flight Crash, Obama Pressures Russia

Jul 18, 2014 | 17:17 GMT

Obama's Statements, Questions About Malaysian Airliner Put Pressure on Russia
U.S. President Barack Obama makes a statement on the Malaysia Airlines crash over eastern Ukraine at the White House on July 18.

(Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Summary

U.S. President Barack Obama gave a news conference July 18 on the Malaysian airliner that was shot down in eastern Ukraine. In the conference, Obama stopped short of blaming any specific groups or individuals, though he did say that it was clear the airliner was taken down by a surface-to-air missile, and that the missile was fired from territory controlled by Russian-backed separatists. Obama also said that a lot of misinformation has surrounded the incident and the conflict in eastern Ukraine in general, and that an investigation will take place with additional information likely to come out over the "next 24-48 hours, next week or next month."

If pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine shot down the airliner, Moscow will have a tough decision to make....

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