MH17 crash: Australia demands compensation from Russia

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott Tuesday held Russia complicit in the downing of the Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 and demanded compensation, according to media reports.

Abbott met Putin on the sidelines of the APEC summit in Beijing and pointed out that when the US had inadvertently shot down an airliner, it had apologised and paid financial compensation. He called on Russia to do the same.

The talks between the two leaders had been billed as a serious confrontation between the two countries on the issue of the MH17 crash, the Melbourne Age reported.

Earlier, Abbott had famously promised to "shirtfront" Putin over Russia's alleged role in the downing of the aircraft.

Shirtfront is an illegal technique used in Australian Rules football to knock a rival to the ground.

Abbott told Putin that Australia was in possession of information suggesting that flight MH17 was destroyed with the help of Russian-supplied weaponry fired from inside eastern Ukraine.

The aircraft, carrying 298 people, was en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur July 17 when it crashed in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region, about 60 km from the Russian border.

All passengers and crew members onboard the Boeing 777-200 died. Among the victims were 38 Australians.

The high-octane meeting between the two leaders was originally intended to take place in Brisbane during the G20 summit.

The Australian government has led the global outrage at the downing of the aircraft allegedly by Russian-backed separatists.

Both sides are known to have agreed to abide by the UN Security Council resolution 2166, which required full cooperation with the independent investigation.