PM calls plane crash an act of terror

Speaking at a press conference on Friday, Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk called the crash of a Malaysian passenger plane in eastern Ukraine an “act of terror”. All information now available leads us to believe the aircraft was shot down from that part of the country that separatists control, he said. “This is an act of terror, even if those responsible for it will say that a mistake happened,” Tusk said. He recalled that two Ukrainian planes have been recently shot down in the same part of the country. What makes the situation more tragic, apart from the number of people killed, Tusk said, is that this time the victims come from a number of different countries, not related to the ongoing conflict. “It only confirms the evil that is happening in eastern Ukraine and that is caused by separatists,” he added. The Polish PM said that he joins his colleagues from other EU countries in the opinion that a ceasefire is immediately needed in the region. This is however not enough, he stressed, as the separatists, supported by another country, are in fact occupying part of Ukraine's territory. Tusk also said that he talked to European Council President Herman van Rompuy earlier on Friday about steps that the EU should take in this situation. A forthcoming meeting of EU foreign affairs ministers should result in a common standing that could also lead to an extraordinary meeting of the European Council, the PM said.