Dutch FM in Moscow to discuss prosecuting MH17 culprits

THE HAGUE – Dutch Foreign Minister Bert Koenders arrived in Moscow on Friday, June 5, to discuss catching and prosecuting those who shot down the Malaysia Airlines flight over Ukraine last year, a crime the West blames on Russia.

Koenders will hold talks with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov “about the MH17 crash and the need to prosecute the culprits”, a foreign ministry statement said.

They will also discuss Moscow’s 89-name travel blacklist of politicians and diplomats announced last week in retaliation for European sanctions, it added.

Flight MH17 was shot down in July last year over war-torn Ukraine, killing all 298 people on board, most of them Dutch nationals.

Kiev and the West claim that the plane was shot down by pro-Russian separatists using a BUK surface-to-air missile supplied by Moscow.

Russia has denied the charges, pointing the finger instead at Kiev.

The Netherlands has been tasked with leading the investigation into the cause of the accident and identifying the victims.

It is also in charge of the criminal prosecution of those responsible.

Shortly after the crash, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 2166 which demanded that those responsible “be held to account and that all states cooperate fully with efforts to establish accountability”.

The Boeing 777 was on a civilian carrier travelling between Amsterdam and Kuala Lumpur when it was shot down in July 2014. – Rappler.com