[Breaking] President Obama’s Malaysia Airlines Presser: ‘What We Know So Far’
President Obama is giving a White House based press conference on the Malaysia Airlines crash, outlining “what we know so far” about the incident.
Despite earlier reports, President Barack Obama has confirmed that one American was killed in the crash of MH17. Indicating that the incident was “not the first time a plane has been shot down in eastern Ukraine,” Obama added that U.S. intelligence determined that the craft was shot out of the sky by a surface-to-air missile, likely by operatives on the ground in East Ukraine.
The President, who said we “don’t have time for propaganda” or “games,” discussed sanctions upon Russia — with which he says Vladimir Putin is displeased — and explained:
“The eyes of the world are on Eastern Ukraine and we are going to make sure that the truth is out.”
Obama also said later in the conference that his administration’s preference is to handle the unrest in the region diplomatically.
The President also warned that there is “likely [to] be misinformation” as the crash of MH17 is investigated, later adding that he did not want to “get out ahead of the facts” as the investigation continues.
However, Obama also did not mince words in his discussion of Russia’s possible involvement:
#Obama A group of separatists can't shoot down planes without sophisticated training that is coming from #Russia
— Luke Russert (@LukeRussert) July 18, 2014
Via the White House Twitter feed, Obama too made several references to the Dutch, and the account tweeted:
"I want the Dutch people to know that we stand with you, shoulder to shoulder, in our grief." —President Obama on flight #MH17
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) July 18, 2014
"There must be a credible, international investigation into what happened." —President Obama on flight #MH17
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) July 18, 2014
Later questions about Americans aboard the flight reveal that no American passports were used to check in for the Malaysia Airlines plane as it was boarded, but Americans with dual citizenship in other nations have not been ruled out:
RT @ABC: State Dept. official: No US passports used to check in for Flight MH17; other passengers with dual citizenship not yet ruled out.
— Matthew Keys (@MatthewKeysLive) July 18, 2014
The White House Malaysia Airlines crash press conference has concluded. In addition to the incident, President Obama also briefly addressed the situation in Gaza and confirmed that he’d spoken to Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu on the phone.
