Malaysia said Saturday
intelligence reports on the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 are "pretty conclusive" and investigators are now working on assembling physical evidence that can be presented to court.
"First of all, we do have the intelligence reports [on] what happened to MH17 and the reports are pretty conclusive," Prime Minister Najib Razak said at a joint news conference with Australia Prime Minister Tony Abbott on his first official visit to Malaysia.
Both prime ministers reiterated their call for justice against perpetrators of the
downing of the Boeing 777 in eastern Ukraine that killed 298 people on board, most of them Dutch.
The comments come ahead of Tuesday's release of a preliminary report by the Dutch Safety Board on Fight 17's crash. The board plans to conduct further investigations and expects to publish the final report within a year of the crash on July 17.
Investigators have said they believe the plane was brought down by a surface-to-air missile from an area controlled by pro-Russian separatists.
"What we need to do next is to assemble physical evidence that can be brought to court when the time comes so that it can be proven beyond any doubt that the plane was shot down by a missile," Mr. Najib said.
Mr. Najib added that investigators will need at least a few weeks to search the crash site in the volatile Donetsk region for remains and evidence before those responsible in the "atrocious crime" can be brought to court.
Malaysia Says Intelligence Reports on Flight 17 Crash 'Pretty Conclusive' - WSJ