LONDON — Angered and dismayed by the downing of a Malaysian airliner over Ukraine, European leaders cast about for some form of joint response to the tragedy on Friday, but, beyond calls for an international inquiry, they showed few signs of immediately following the United States in imposing harsher sanctions on Russia.
With sentiments ranging from shock to fury, political leaders across the globe urged a rapid, independent, and international effort to investigate the crash, which killed 298 people and provoked accusations and counteraccusations about who brought the plane down.
Speaking to reporters in Berlin, Angela Merkel, the chancellor of Germany, which has close economic ties with Moscow, said there were “many indications” that the Malaysian airliner “was shot down.” Both the Ukrainian government and its pro-Moscow separatist foes in east Ukraine, where the plane crashed, has blamed the other for bringing it down. US and Ukrainian officials say the jetliner was shot down by a Russian-made antiaircraft missile.
But Merkel declined to answer questions about whether she would back tougher sanctions against President Vladimir Putin of Russia, beyond the more limited measures the European Union has already agreed. The United States imposed a new and tougher round of sanctions on Russian companies and business executives Wednesday before the downing of the airliner Thursday.
Rather, Merkel suggested that the best solution lay in ending the conflict.
“Russia’s responsibility is clear,” the chancellor said Friday, calling on Putin and his government to do their part “to find ways to reach a permanent cease-fire.”
“It will be a difficult path, but there is no alternative to a political solution,” the chancellor told reporters.
Merkel indirectly suggested France should halt military exports to Russia, noting Germany had stopped its military cooperation with Russia this year.
“We have not introduced any export limits to specific sectors on the European side, so I cannot say anything at this time,” Merkel told reporters in Berlin. “The legal situation allows for such exports.”
The chancellor then went on to point out that Germany had put “on ice” a joint exercise with Russia.
“That was our response to the situation at the moment,” Merkel said.
European officials in Brussels said it was possible that the EU would bring forward a deadline to list more Russian oligarchs and companies as part of a tough European sanctions policy unveiled this week.
But the bloc was likely to remain divided between those member states ready to confront Moscow and those that are reluctant, the officials said.
The formal deadline for the European listings is the end of this month. The officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said it was also possible that European leaders would hold a previously unscheduled summit next week.