Russia rejects ICAO ruling finding it responsible for downing of flight MH17
‘Russia was not a party that took part in the investigation of this incident. Therefore, we do not accept any biased conclusions,’ says Kremlin spokesman
A file photo dates November 18, 2014 shows OSCE and Netherlands experts in cooperation with employers of MES continue collecting and transmitting of parts of Boeing MH17. On 17 July 2014,
ISTANBUL
Russia has rejected a ruling by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) that found Moscow guilty of the 2014 downing over Ukraine of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, with nearly 300 people dying.
“I am not going to comment on this. Our position is well known. Russia was not a party that took part in the investigation of this incident. Therefore, we do not accept any biased conclusions,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters in Moscow on Tuesday.
The Kremlin’s remarks came after the ICAO, a specialized agency of the UN, found Russia guilty of downing flight MH17 in a Monday vote.
The organization said in a statement that it found Moscow “failed to uphold its obligations under international air law in the 2014 downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17,” and that it agreed with the claims brought by Australia and the Netherlands, which it said were “well founded in fact and in law.”
"It cannot take away their grief and pain, but the decision is an important step towards establishing the truth and achieving justice and accountability for all victims of Flight MH17, and their families and loved ones," Dutch Foreign Minister Casper Veldkamp was quoted as saying in a statement on the ruling.
"This decision also sends a clear message to the international community: states cannot violate international law with impunity," he added.
The statement added that the ICAO Council will consider what form of reparation is in order in the coming weeks, and that both the Netherlands and Australia are requesting that the council orders Russia to enter into talks with both countries.
MH17 from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur was shot down above eastern Ukraine on July 17, 2014. All 298 people on board were killed, including 196 Dutch citizens.
In 2022, a court in the Netherlands gave life sentences to three people including Russians Sergey Dubinskiy and Igor Girkin, as well as Ukrainian Leonid Kharchenko, who were found guilty of causing the crash, while another Russian, Oleg Pulatov, was acquitted on all charges.
However, Moscow rejected the "scandalous" verdict and denied any involvement in the jet going down.
April 2014 saw the start of a separatist insurgency in eastern Ukraine, adjacent to Russia, where there is a large ethnic Russian population.
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