Putin told Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak that rebels were not hindering access to the site of the Malaysia Airlines crash, in which 298 people died in July when the aircraft came down in an area controlled by pro-Russian separatists.
"Of course the rebels are not shooting, that is done by the various military groups fighting on the side of Ukraine's official authorities," Putin was quoted as saying by state news agency RIA-Novosti.
Ukraine and the West blame Russia for supplying the separatists with the Buk surface-to-air missile that shot down the Boeing 777 plane on July 17, while Moscow and the rebels have pointed the finger at Kiev.
Five more coffins of passengers who were on the Amsterdam-Kuala Lumpur flight were flown to the Netherlands on Saturday for identification.
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