Ukraine peace hopes dwindle

The resolution of the Ukraine crisis has also become the focus of the international community. The tragic downing of MH17 indicates that the crisis is no longer a regional dispute between Russia and Ukraine, but one involving other countries. To prevent more tragedies from happening in the region, the international community is expected to urge both Moscow and Kiev to reach a consensus through peaceful negotiations. International institutions such as the United Nations and NATO have pledged to intervene in the MH17 investigation, and further measures to restore stability in the region are foreseeable.

Of course, Russia is likely to be further isolated by the Western powers due to its role in the Ukraine crisis, and most Western media outlets unanimously hold the pro-Russia separatists accountable for bringing down MH17. Apart from being excluded from the G8 earlier this year, Russia has been subject to an increasing number of diplomatic and economic sanctions by the United States and European Union even before the MH17 tragedy.

The sanctions are not without their critics in Europe, as Russia remains an important trade partner and natural resources provider to the EU. However, the MH17 disaster has prompted the US and the EU to impose new sanctions on Russia, and a new Cold War is looming.

Meanwhile, relations between Moscow and Kiev are teetering on the brink of breakdown as a result of their reciprocal accusations that each was responsible for shooting down MH17.

Moreover, the continuing Ukraine crisis might cast a shadow over the country's economic exchanges with China. Admittedly Kiev is in urgent need of foreign aid to address both its financial crisis and regional unrest, but investors outside of the country will be understandably concerned about the situation.

With the Ukrainian economy suffering as a result of the international financial crisis and European debt crisis since 2008, the Ukrainian government has been increasingly insolvent in recent years, leaving numerous loans from Beijing unpaid. The ongoing east-west unrest in the country has made it difficult for Kiev to protect foreign enterprises, deterring more Chinese investors from engaging in the Ukraine market.

Being in strong partnerships with both Moscow and Kiev, Beijing is amenable to assisting both to engage in peaceful talks over the escalating tensions in eastern Ukraine. Therefore it is showing no partiality and calls for international efforts to address the MH17 crisis on the basis of international law and facts.

The author is a researcher at the Institute of Russian, Eastern European and Central Asian Studies under the Chinese Academy of Social Science.