On Thursday, Russia said that it would withdraw from discussions with Netherlands and Australia aiming to investigate its alleged role in shooting down the Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 that was travelling from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur in 2014. The incident, which occurred six years ago, led to the death of 298 individuals, of which two-thirds were Dutch nationals. A statement released by the Russian Foreign Ministry said that this decision was a result of the Netherlands and Australia’s “vicious” attempts to blame Moscow for the incident.
The statement read: “Hostile acts by the Netherlands have made any continuation of the trilateral consultations and our participation senseless.” Further, it added that “Australia and Netherlands have obviously not tried to understand what really happened in summer 2014, but rather just wanted to secure a confession from Russia and compensation for the victim’s relatives.” However, Moscow has voiced its intention to continue investigating into the incident “in a different format.”
Russia’s discontent with the trilateral efforts to investigate the incident began in July, with the Netherlands’ decision to take Russia to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). Russia, which is a signatory to the ECHR, will be obligated to comply with the decision of the court. The decision to take Moscow to the ECHR came following a Dutch-led investigation conducted by the Joint Investigation Team (JIT), which concluded that the Boeing 777 aircraft was taken down by a “Buk surface-to-air missile” that was fired by pro-Moscow rebels in Ukraine. The JIT also said that the missiles were sent to Ukraine by Russia. Further, there is an ongoing investigation by Dutch prosecutors against four individuals—three Russian nationals and one Ukrainian who is known to have acquired a Russian passport.
Moreover, Russia and the Netherlands have also engaged in repeated diplomatic negotiations, but the Dutch decision to take the matter to the ECHR indicated a failure in these talks. Russia expressed its discontent over the move taking place “after just three rounds of talks,” which it believes is an indication of the Netherlands’ “intention to take the vicious path [...] of unilaterally assigning responsibility to Russia for what happened.” Konstantin Kosachev, the head of the foreign affairs committee of the Russian parliament, called the decision “a strange initiative from every aspect” as national-level investigations were still pending.
Both the Netherlands and Australia have condemned Moscow’s decision to withdraw from the ongoing talks. Dutch Foreign Minister Stef Blok said, “The Netherlands greatly regrets this decision [...] It is extremely painful for the survivors.” Prime Minister Mark Rutte, too, expressed his shock and disappointment with Russia’s announcement. Similarly, on Friday, Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne said she was “deeply disappointed” with Moscow’s withdrawal from the negotiations. She said, “We urge Russia to return immediately to the talks,” expressing her commitment to “pursuing truth, justice and accountability for the 298 victims of MH17 and their loved ones.”
Russia Abandons MH17 Negotiations with Netherlands and Australia
According to a statement released by the Russian Foreign Ministry, Australia and the Netherlands are making “vicious” attempts to wrongfully blame Russia for the incident.
October 16, 2020
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS