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RUSSIAN Premier Vladimir Putin has rejected a last minute appeal from the Dutch prime minister to support the creation of an international tribunal to try suspects accused of shooting down Malaysian Airlines Flight MH17, just hours before a crucial United Nations vote on the issue.
Putin and senior Russian diplomats made clear Russia was to use its veto to block the creation of a tribunal at a United Nations Security Council meeting on Wednesday evening.
In a “frank and detailed” telephone conversation on Wednesday afternoon, Mark Rutte, the Dutch prime minister, made an “urgent” appeal to the Russian president to support the creation of a special court to try the as yet unnamed suspects.
But Putin reiterated Russian concerns about the proposals.
“Putin said that Russia continues to view the establishment of such a tribunal as not being the best course of action, noting that many questions remain regarding the investigation, including with respect to the evidence collected so far, and to Russia’s not being allowed to participate in much of the investigation,” the Kremlin said in readout of the conversation posted on its website.
Malaysian Airlines Flight MH17 from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur was destroyed over eastern Ukraine on July 17, 2014, killing all 298 people on board.
Malaysia, the Netherlands, Australia, Ukraine, and Belgium have called for an international tribunal to try the suspects, and a draft resolution establishing such a court was set to be debated at the United Nations Security Council in New York on Tuesday night. Australia, which had a number of citizens on board the flight, also stepped up lobbying efforts ahead of the vote yesterday, Julie Bishop, the foreign minister, saying in New York: “This [veto] would not serve Russia’s national interest, in seeking to deny the families of those aboard MH17 justice.”
The resolution would oblige all countries to support the tribunal or face sanctions.
Russia says discussion of a tribunal should be postponed until two Dutch-led investigations into the crash release their reports.
An air accident investigation into the causes of the crash is set to report in October, while a separate criminal investigation is expected to drag on at least to the end of this year.
Dutch prosecutors have said the criminal investigation will produce a dossier of evidence supporting prosecutions for murder and possibly war crimes. No suspects have yet been named.
Rutte said he tried to address some Russian concerns in the conversation.
“It’s precisely to prevent the politicisation of the judicial process that it’s desirable to decide on the tribunal before determining the facts and the charges,” he said according to a statement released by his office.
The Kremlin said Putin “expressed regret” that the countries backed a tribunal had not supported a compromise resolution put forward by Russia.
Western countries say the Boeing 777 was destroyed by a surface to air missile fired by Russian-backed separatists who mistook it for a Ukrainian aircraft.
A Telegraph investigation has found strong evidence that MH17 was shot down by a Buk missile launcher firing from separatist-controlled territory 12 miles southeast of the crash site.
Russia and the separatists have consistently denied any involvement, and have variously argued that it was shot down by a Ukrainian missile or a Ukrainian jet-fighter. — The Telegraph.
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