Malaysian airliner crashes in Ukraine

KUALA LUMPUR -- The Ukraine Parliament on Tuesday ratified a bilateral agreement, which allowed up to 90 Malaysian non-military personnel to be deployed at the MH17 crash site, a statement from Malaysian Prime Minister's Office said Wednesday.

Under the agreement, the Malaysian personnel would join a Dutch-led team to facilitate the recovery of remains and conduct the investigation called for in the UN Security Council Resolution 2166.

The Ukrainian side ratified the bilateral agreement following discussions between Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak and Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, the statement said.

Najib said Wednesday that he welcome the agreement, which formally authorized the deployment of Malaysian personnel at the site. "Now is the time to make it count," he said.

"I implore all parties to cease fighting and allow the international team of investigators safe and unfettered access to the crash site," he added.

Prior to ratification of the agreement, Malaysian police and investigators had conducted operations at the crash site. "Due to unsafe conditions, the personnel were unable to stay at the site," the statment said.