Prime Minister Joseph Muscat has insisted that the EU needs to impose further sanctions on Russia, in the wake of the apparent downing of a Malaysian passenger plane by pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine.

Dr Muscat was speaking on CNN International programme The Business View by Nina dos Santos, in an interview which was aired this morning.

Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 was a scheduled international passenger flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur which crashed on 17 July, killing all 283 passengers and 15 crew on board. The passengers included nearly 100 experts on HIV/AIDS, who were heading to Melbourne for the 2014 International AIDS Conference.

The plane is believed to have been shot down with a Buk surface-to-air missile, and the prime suspects are pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine, who are believed to be receiving covert support from Russia.

Most of the victims are EU nationals, including 193 Dutch citizens, prompting calls for tougher sanctions on Russia.

Dr Muscat joined such calls, stating that “further sanctions on Russia should take effect within the week in order for the EU to be considered credible.”

In his appearance on The Business View, the Prime Minister also focussed on irregular migration, insisting yet again on a “burden sharing” mechanism which would ensure that countries at the EU border do not shoulder responsibility on their own.

His statement came in the wake of the latest tragedy at sea, which saw some 30 asylum seekers perish in a boat which found itself in difficulty while crossing from Libya to Europe.