Australia examining 'every option': Bishop

The AFP is working with the Red Cross to collect personal belongings of MH17 victims that have been stored in a Donetsk morgue.

Members of the Dutch and Australian forensic teams in Donetsk,

The AFP is working with the Red Cross to collect personal belongings of MH17 victims. (AAP)

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop says Australian and Dutch police are considering "every option" when it comes to accessing the MH17 crash site in eastern Ukraine.

A team of international investigators, including Australian Federal Police officers, hasn't been able to reach the crash site in recent days due to escalating clashes between Ukrainian government forces and pro-Russia militants.

The mission was again forced to turn back on Wednesday due to safety concerns.

"Our personnel are working around the clock on operational matters," Ms Bishop told reporters in Kiev.

"There's an extraordinary effort underway by the Dutch and Australian teams so that we can consider every alternative, every option, to gain access to the site."

Ms Bishop on Tuesday met with the Ukrainian prime minister, acting prime minister and defence minister.

She made it clear to the government "that we must have access to the site by way of a humanitarian corridor and there must be a ceasefire to enable us to get onto the site and complete our work".

"We are determined to access the site and fulfil the terms of UN Security Council resolution 2166 that gave us a mandate ... to retrieve the bodies and remains and gather the evidence necessary for the investigation to determine who was responsible for this atrocious act," the foreign minister said.

Ms Bishop also revealed a large collection of passengers' personal belongings are at a morgue in the rebel stronghold of Donetsk.

"The AFP is helping co-ordinate an operation to remove the belongings from the morgue in Donetsk and transfer them to the Netherlands," the foreign minister said.

"We recognise the importance of personal effects to the families and next of kin of those who were killed. So this is part of our humanitarian mission."

The Ukrainian parliament is expected on Thursday to ratify deals with Australia and the Netherlands regarding the humanitarian policing mission.

The deployment agreements would allow the two countries to send in armed police or soldiers if required.

The Australian and Dutch teams are flying in supplies from Eindhoven airbase in the Netherlands on two RAAF C-17 Globemaster transporters.


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