Moscow [Russia], May 14: The Kremlin on May 13 rejected a ruling by the United Nations' International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) that Russia was responsible for the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 over Ukraine in 2014.
ICAO , headquartered in Montreal (Canada), blamed Russia for the crash of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 in Ukrainian airspace on July 17, 2014, killing all 298 people on board, according to AFP on May 14.
Australia and the Netherlands, the two countries that suffered the greatest loss of life in the tragedy, called on Russia to accept responsibility for the plane crash and pay compensation.
ICAO concluded that the claims made by Australia and the Netherlands regarding flight MH17 "have a solid factual and legal basis".
"The Russian Federation failed to fulfill its obligations under international law in the 2014 downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17," ICAO said in a statement on May 13.
However, the Kremlin rejected the ruling on the same day. "Our position is very clear. Russia is not a participant in the investigation of this incident, so we do not accept any biased conclusions," TASS quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying.
On its website, the Russian Foreign Ministry also issued a statement protesting the ICAO's ruling: "Russia does not recognize the council's decision. This decision is illegal."
Moscow said the "primary responsibility" lay with the Kyiv government, which was at the time engaged in a conflict with separatists in Donbass. Russia said the operations carried out by the Ukrainian side at the time were carried out under the pretext of counter-terrorism.
Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 took off from Amsterdam (Netherlands) to Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) on July 17, and was shot down over eastern Ukraine during escalating fighting between separatists and Ukrainian forces.
Among the victims were 196 Dutch citizens and 38 Australian citizens/permanent residents.
In November 2022, Dutch judges ruled in absentia against two Russians and a Ukrainian for their roles in the attack. Russia also rejected the ruling.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper