Ukraine rebels say have material 'resembling' MH17 black boxes

DONETSK, Ukraine - Agence France-Presse

A pro-Russian fighter guards the crash site of a Malaysia Airlines jet near the village of Hrabove, eastern Ukraine, Saturday, July 19, 2014. AP Photo

Pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine said Sunday they had recovered objects which appear to be the black boxes of downed Malaysian airliner MH17 and are willing to hand them over to international investigators.
      
"Jet parts resembling the black boxes were discovered at the crash site," said Alexander Borodai, prime minister of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic, adding that they would be handed over to "international experts if they arrive".
      
Borodai also said bodies which have been removed from the crash site will be kept in refrigerated carriages on a train near the scene "until the experts arrive".
      
The rebel said his teams had taken the corpses away from the crash site "out of respect for the families" and because "it is becoming inhumane in these conditions".
      
"We couldn't wait any longer because of the heat and also because there are many dogs and wild animals in the zone, he added.

Rebels to 'guarantee safety' of crash site monitors if Kyiv argees truce

A top Ukrainian rebel leader said  that the pro-Russian fighters will guarantee the safety of international monitors at the Malaysian jet's crash site if Kyiv agrees to a truce.
      
"We declare that we will guarantee the safety of international experts on the scene as soon as Kiev concludes a ceasefire agreement," the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic's deputy premier Andrei Purgin said in a statement.
      
He urged Kyiv to "immediately conclude such an agreement" with the rebels.
      
Failure to do so would give the impression that the government is made up of "dangerous lunatics, bloodthirsty maniacs (who are) dangerous not only for the residents of Donbass but also for the world community", Purgin warned.
      
Purgin's statement came as the international community piled pressure on Russia to get the Moscow-backed rebels to grant investigators full access to the crash site of the Malaysian MH17 jet.