The Hague: Relatives of those lost in the crash of flight MH17 have been invited to decide how they want their loved ones' remains to return home, as forensic work in The Netherlands begins to identify the Australian dead.
Prime Minister Tony Abbott arrived in The Hague on Sunday night, for a day's visit in which he will formally thank the Dutch for their work retrieving victims from the crash site in Eastern Ukraine.
He will also meet some of the 500 Australian police, military and consular staff involved in the recovery effort, some of whom worked in dangerous conditions in the war zone surrounding the site.
Mr Abbott on arrival in the Netherlands said that he was pleased to be here, "although obviously there is a certain sorrow which brings me here".
He said the "first and foremost" reason for his visit was to offer condolences to the government and people of The Netherlands for their loss.
"I am also here to say thank you from a grateful nation to the Australian police and military personnel who played such an extraordinary role in Operation Bring Them Home," Mr Abbott said.
He will discuss with Mr Rutte and other Dutch officials the investigation into the shooting down of MH17.
He said the discussions would cover "just what needs to be done to ensure that the investigation is concluded and the guilty are punished and justice is delivered to the grieving families of the 298 innocent people who were murdered on flight MH17".
The operation to recover body parts has halted because of increasing numbers of firefights and shelling in the area between Ukrainian forces and the local separatist fighters.
Speaking on ABC Radio on Monday morning (AEST), Mr Abbott said it was possible but unlikely that Australian investigators could return to the crash site to collect more remains.
But the Prime Minister said the mission is “officially suspended” for the time being.
“We discovered about a week ago, the risks were getting greater and the rewards were getting fewer and that’s why we decided to suspend the operation,” he said.
“But if at a later time, fighting in the area subsides, if we think that there are more remains to be recovered, obviously we’ll go back but at the moment we think we have got everything that is readily available at the moment, that is readily findable at the moment so I suppose that means this phase of Operation Bring Them Home is over.”
Mr Abbott said he hoped Russia would “wake up to itself” and leave Ukraine to manage itself. He repeated the threat of sanctions, including on uranium in Russian forces cross the border.
Australian scientists are now working alongside Dutch colleagues to identify the remains collected from the site over the past few weeks.
About 176 bodies have arrived in The Netherlands, along with 527 other body parts.
As of Sunday morning, local time, the forensic team in The Netherlands had identified 65 victims from MH17 of the 298 on board who died in the July 17 crash.
There were 38 on board who called Australia home, making it almost certain that some of the Australian victims are among those identified.
It is being left up to the families of the dead to decide whether to announce that their relative has been identified.
They are also being invited to decide on the specifics of how, and when the remains will return to Australia. As of Sunday evening, Australian time, no Australian victims had been repatriated.
The 43-string forensic team are unwilling to speculate how many of the MH17's occupants are represented in the remains so far collected from the crash site - and how many might remain unaccounted for at the end of this stage of the operation.
The scientists are using dental, DNA and fingerprint records to match names to the remains. They have to work in masks and protective suits because of the chemical preservative used in the Ukraine, the Dutch said on Friday.
On Monday, accompanied by AFP Commissioner Tony Negus and ADF chief Mark Binskin, Mr Abbott will personally thank Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte for his leadership of the international operation.
Mr Abbott will also sign a condolence book for Dutch victims, and receive updates on the search and victim identification work.
On Tuesday Mr Abbott will travel to Britain for security briefings from British ministers and agencies.
