Russian President Vladimir Putin said yesterday calls for a UN tribunal to be set up to prosecute suspects in the downing of a Malaysian airliner last year in a rebel-held part of Ukraine were counterproductive and premature.
Putin made his comments in a phone call with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte before today’s first anniversary of the incident in which all 298 passengers and crew aboard were killed, many of them Dutch citizens.
Rutte has said a UN tribunal would give “the best guarantee of cooperation from all countries” in seeking justice for the families of the victims.
However, Russia is still disputing accusations that pro-Russian separatists fighting government forces in east Ukraine shot the commercial airliner down.
The Kremlin said in a statement yesterday that Putin “explained Russia’s position regarding the premature and counterproductive initiatives of several countries, including the Netherlands, on the establishment of an international tribunal.”
It seems the tribunal should punish those who Washington has decided are guilty
It said the Russian President had underlined that any decisions and investigations must be thorough, objective and independent, and criticised what the statement described as politicised media coverage offering various versions of what had happened.
Russia, which denies involvement in the conflict in eastern Ukraine, has dismissed the theory widely supported abroad that the pro-Russian separatists hit the plane with a Russian-supplied BUK missile.
Russian officials have even suggested that Ukrainian forces shot it down, a charge denied by Kiev.
At the same time, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said that the US would influence the results of the investigation.
“It seems [the tribunal] should punish those who Washington has decided are guilty,” he was quoted as saying by news agency Interfax.
Oleg Storchevoy, deputy head of Russia’s federal air transport agency Rosaviatsiya, said the hypothesis that a BUK missile was used to shoot down the airliner was just one possible theory.
A pro-Russian separatist standing at the crash site of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, near the settlement of Grabovo in the Donetsk region, on July 18, 2014.“It is also necessary to consider all the facts which support the theory that an air-to-air missile was used to destroy the aircraft,” he said.
The Netherlands is leading the criminal investigation, which is also assisted by Belgium, Australia and Ukraine.
A final report on the cause of the crash is due to be released in October by the Dutch Safety Board.
Commemorations in the Netherlands and Ukraine today are marking a painful milestone for the families, some of whom have had to wait until now for scattered remains to be recovered.
In Ukraine, the crash site near the village of Hrabove is now marked by flowers and toys brought by locals in memory of the many children who died.
“God forbid this happens here again or anywhere else,' said Alexander Pereverzev, who lives just 300 metres away. “I feel so sorry for the people who died.”
The tragedy marked a turning point in the conflict in eastern Ukraine between government forces and pro-Russian separatist rebels, in which more than 6,500 people have now been killed.
Western governments believe the rebels shot down the plane at cruising altitude with a Russian-supplied BUK missile system, a version based on radio intercepts, photographic and video evidence, witness statements and satellite imagery.