MOSCOW (AP) – The crash of the Malaysian airliner in rebel-held eastern Ukraine is being viewed as a potential turning-point in the conflict – either, the international revulsion over the death of all 298 people on board will force the warring parties to seek an end to the violence, or the disaster will stoke the fighting as the recriminations escalate.
Four days on from the downing of the plane, both scenarios remain possible.
An assessment of the strategies and pressures in play in the conflict that has killed more than 400 people aside from the victims of the crash:
THE CAUSE
The Boeing 777 was almost certainly shot down, but who did it remains hotly disputed. Ukrainian authorities and Western countries mostly blame pro-Russia separatists in eastern Ukraine and there are some suggestions that Russia itself may have fired the missile. Russia, which denies allegations it is directing or aiding the rebels, hasn’t directly lain the blame on anyone but its statements imply that Ukrainian forces were responsible.