6.13 pm: Malaysian flight MH17 had clean maintenance record, says airline
The Malaysia Airlines plane that crashed in rebel-held territory in eastern Ukraine killing 298 passengers on board, had a clean maintenance record, AFP quoted an airline official as saying on Friday.
"The aircraft had a clean maintenance record," Malaysia Airlines' European vice president Huib Gorter said, adding "all systems on the aircraft were running normally" when contact was lost.
5.55 pm: Putin asks warring sides in Ukraine to lay down arms
Vladimir Putin has told warring sides in Ukraine to lay down their arms and engage in talks, reports Associated Press.
Meanwhile AFP reports Putin saying he was in touch with Ukraine leaders, hopes crisis will be solved.
5.38 pm: Russia won't take flight MH17 black boxes, says Sergei Lavrov
According to Reuters, Russia does not plan to take the "black box" flight recorders from a Malaysian airliner downed in territory held by pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Friday.
"Despite what Kiev is again saying, we do not plan to take these (black) boxes. We do not plan to violate existing (international) norms for such situations," Lavrov said in an interview with Russian state television.
"We want international experts to get to the site of the crash as soon as possible so that they get the black boxes right away."
1.19 pm: Putin calls up Dutch PM, seeks urgent settlement of Ukraine crisis
Russian President Vladimir Putin called for an urgent settlement of the Ukraine crisis Friday as he expressed condolences to Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte over the Malaysian jet crash.
"The head of Russia stressed that the tragedy once again highlighted the need for an urgent peaceful settlement of the most acute crisis in Ukraine and noted there is a need for a thorough and objective investigation of the air crash," the Kremlin said in a statement after Putin spoke with Rutte by phone.