Putin calls for Ukraine settlement to help MH17 investigation

Russian President Vladimir Putin has called for an urgent settlement of the Ukraine crisis as he expressed condolences to Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte over the Malaysian jet crash.

"The head of Russia stressed that the tragedy once again highlighted the need for an urgent peaceful settlement of the most acute crisis in Ukraine and noted there is a need for a thorough and objective investigation of the air crash," the Kremlin said on Friday in a statement after Putin spoke with Rutte by phone.

Of the 298 crash victims, 154 were from the Netherlands and 28 from Australia.