Turkey called for cooperation with the Ukrainian government on an international investigation into the crash of the Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, said a statement released by Turkey's Foreign Ministry on Saturday.

"We consider the downing of the Malaysia Airlines passenger plane while flying through Ukrainian airspace in Donetsk region as a heinous attack on innocent civilians," the ministry said in the statement.

"It is essential that all relevant countries and organizations will cooperate with the Ukrainian government and that the perpetrators of this attack will be brought to justice through a profound investigation," the ministry said.

The flight MH17, en route from Amsterdam for Kuala Lumpur, went down Thursday in eastern Ukraine, killing all the 298 passengers and crew on board.