Ahead of anniversary G7 foreign ministers remind Russia of its role in MH17 air disaster
The foreign ministries of the Group of Seven (G7) countries have made a statement ahead of the anniversary of the Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 catastrophe over the Donbas on July 17, 2014. The statement was published by the Canadian Foreign Ministry.
“We, the G7 foreign ministers, of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, and the High Representative of the European Union, are united in our condemnation, in the strongest possible terms, of the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17, a civilian aircraft flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur on July 17, 2014… We fully support the work of the Joint Investigation Team (JIT), an independent criminal investigation led by the Netherlands, Australia, Belgium, Malaysia and Ukraine.
The JIT’s findings on Russia’s role in the downing of MH17 are compelling, significant and deeply disturbing,” the statement reads.
The G7 ministers urge Russia to cooperate fully with the investigation in order to “establish the truth and achieve justice for the victims of MH17 and their next of kin”.
The diplomats also urge the Kremlin to “immediately engage” with the Netherlands and Australia in order to address all questions regarding possible breaches of international law.
Previously, the EU leaders urged Russia to admit its responsibility for the downing of Flight MH17.
In May this year, the JIT published an interim report on the catastrophe, concluding that the Boeing was shot down by a Buk missile instillation belonging to the 53rd Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade of the Russian Army.
The JIT report did not name any specific guilty persons. Following the release of the report, the Netherlands and Australia, which are closely involved in the investigation, urged Russia to admit its responsibility for the catastrophe which killed 298 people, mostly Dutch citizens.
Moscow does not agree with the finds of the investigation, and claims that the investigation is ignoring the information provided by Russia. In the Russian media and in statements by Russian officials, various theories have been proposed which blame the Ukrainian military for the catastrophe, but these theories have not found support in the investigation.