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Malaysia has stated for the first time that it believes the Ukrainian government ought to bear responsibility for the crash of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, according to a report from Singaporean newspaper Lianhe Zaobao.

Malaysian transport minister Liow Tiong Lai was quoted by the paper as saying that the Ukrainian government needs to take responsibility for the disaster because it was Ukrainian air traffic controllers who permitted MH17 to fly over the country's airspace when it was shot down on July 17 en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, killing all 283 passengers and 15 crew on board.

Ukraine's air traffic controllers did not notify MH17 that it was not permitted to fly in the region, Liow said, adding that the Ukrainian government had a responsibility to tell the Boeing 777-200ER airliner if it was in any danger.

As for the report from American magazine Newsweek claiming that pro-Russia militants in Ukraine admitted to shooting down MH17 — as the international community has speculated — Liow said more time is needed to confirm the source of this information and that the Malaysian government will not jump to conclusions until it is absolutely certain of who is responsible for the crash.

Flight MH17 was shot down at an altitude of about 33,000 feet around 50 kilometers from the Russia-Ukraine border with what experts believe — based on the size, shape and pattern of the shrapnel — was a Russia-developed BUK surface-to-air missile.

Liow also mentioned that Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak is about to visit the Netherlands this week to discuss the downed commercial jet with his Dutch counterpart in the hope of securing full access to the crash site. Najib reached an agreement with pro-Russian rebel leader Alexander Borodai on Monday to secure the handing over of the plane's black boxes and the remains of the victims, as well as safe access to the crash site.

Liow said Malaysia's Department Civil Aviation was analyzing flight warnings issued by the American Federal Aviation Administration and could decide to divert flights if deemed necessary. The alternative is to continue on the same routes but increase the altitude from 30,000 feet to 38,000 feet or even 40,000 feet, Liow added.