Malaysia has said it is intensifying negotiations with the Ukrainian government as well as separatist groups to allow the investigation team to re-enter the MH17 crash site in eastern Ukraine before the onset of winter.
Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai told parliament here today that Malaysia was hopeful that the negotiations would be fruitful, although the chances of re-entering the crash site appeared to be getting slimmer, state-owned Bernama news agency said.
"We will continue negotiating and hopefully, the investigation team can enter the crash site soon, before the winter season starts.
Otherwise, we have to wait until the cold season is over, probably next April," he said .
"We understand the complexity of the situation in Ukraine as there are several separatist groups there, at least 12 or 13, so it's not easy to get an agreement for a full ceasefire," he said.
Liow said the remains of 278 of the the 298 victims had been identified so far by the medical team at the Military Medical Centre in Hilversum, the Netherlands.
"The black boxes have been returned to us and have been analysed. All the conversation data are in good condition," he was quoted by Bernama as saying.
Malaysia Airlines (MAS) Flight MH17, carrying 298 passengers and crew, crashed in eastern Ukraine on July 17 en route to Kuala Lumpur from Amsterdam.
The jetliner is believed to have been shot down by a missile fired by pro-Russian rebels over the troubled country.
It was the second tragedy to hit Malaysia Airlines this year after Flight MH370 carrying 239 people disappeared en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8 and no sign of that plane has been found despite a massive air and sea search.
