The crash of the Malaysian jet in Ukraine has generated mystery as to who is responsible for this tragedy. A fair international investigation is required as a matter of respect to the families of the dead passengers and tribute to the victims themselves.

The crash of the plane is certainly placed within the context of the Ukrainian conflict, but it is almost impossible to draw safe conclusions at this stage.

A peaceful and stable Ukraine could not have been the arena for the launch of that kind of enemy actions threatening and killing innocent citizens. But the West has been quick in blaming Russia for provoking, or at least not preventing, the shooting down of the Malaysian jet.

This tendency has been evident in the Western press which focuses on the general role and responsibility of Russian President Vladimir Putin. A recent editorial of The New York Times, for example, asserts that he can stop this war "by telling the Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine to end this insurgency and by stopping the flow of money and heavy weaponry to those groups."

On the same wavelength, The Wall Street Journal concentrates on the "threat that Vladimir Putin's regime poses to the world order" and the need for the US and Europe to wake up and realize the truth about Putin's "military and political designs."

Some German media have started to go further by mixing politics into sports. Bild, for instance, recently organized an online survey on whether the 2018 World Cup should take place in Russia.

The newspaper also conducted interviews with various German politicians who called for the 2018 World Cup to be stripped from Russia. Other German scholars expressed their skepticism for the high cost of this major football event. 

These examples of media coverage after the recent crash of the Malaysian plane in Ukraine reflect and reinforce the negative image of Russia in the US and Europe.

According to a poll conducted by Pew Research Center, Russia is unpopular in many countries. In particular, more than 60 percent of people in the US, Germany, Italy, Spain and France hold an unfavorable view of this country. The same survey demonstrates that the majority of US and European citizens do not have confidence that Putin is doing the right thing in world affairs.

Russia holds part of the responsibility for the ongoing confrontation. The country is an integral part of this crisis for both historical and present reasons. Nonetheless, a fair and comprehensive analysis of the problem should not be one-dimensional.

Since autumn of 2013, the West has played an incendiary role in Ukraine, often unable to hide its double standards and failing to admit its own mistakes.

In spite of the offending comments and characterizations in the Western media discourse, Russian citizens approve of Putin's leadership. A Gallup World poll outlines that 83 percent of Russians back Putin's style. Moreover, the majority of Russian feels confident with the national government and the military, although it has some concerns on the honesty of elections.

To sum up, the most significant vacuum in the Western coverage of all incidents stemming from the Ukrainian crisis is their interpretation that a solution is only pending due to Putin's allegedly irreconcilable stance. But the right appeal for cooperation should not be only directed at the president of Russia but also to Western leaders.

Charges and accusations cannot solve the problem which requires the logic of compromise and good will. Although Western politicians, analysts and journalists are not satisfied with this reality, Putin has the right to disagree.

The author is a research fellow at the Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy. opinion@globaltimes.com.cn