Excerpts from briefing by Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova, Moscow, January 11, 2019 - О ситуации вокруг расследования катастрофы малайзийского "Боинга" МН-17

Question: Information appeared in the media before the New Year that the Netherlands allegedly is not satisfied with Russia’s response to the proposition to hold talks on the crash of the Malaysian Boeing in Ukraine in 2014 and will explore the possibility of submitting this case to an international court. Is it true that Russia rejects dialogue with the Netherlands?

Maria Zakharova: We have seen reports that Russia refuses to cooperate. This is absolutely incorrect. As is known, the Dutch government regularly reports to the country’s parliament on the investigation of the Boeing catastrophe. As the investigation is stalled, there is a temptation to lay the responsibility at Russia’s door, as usual. The plane crashed over four years ago but the investigation has not been completed yet and important circumstances of the accident have not been cleared up. In May last year, the Hague and Canberra, obviously forcing events, officially accused Russia of being involved in the crash of Flight MH-17, without providing any proof. In addition, those two countries, Australia and the Netherlands, proposed holding trilateral talks in this regard.

We have been actively corresponding about consultations on the “MH-17 case” through diplomatic channels since May 2018. The resulting meeting has not taken place yet, also due to differences in how the sides approach the subject. The Netherlands and Australia are interested only in discussing Russia’s legal responsibility and the ensuing consequences. They demand that we admit our responsibility for the crash of the Malaysian Boeing and repent. Russia definitely cannot accept this ultimatum. The Joint Investigation Team has not concluded its work, the guilty party has not been identified and the prospects of this case going to trial are dim. We still have many questions for the investigation team, including the fact that the air space was not closed to civilian airliners over the area of combat operations in Donbass. In addition, we would like to receive explanations how the data, that Russia has provided and keeps providing in considerable amount to the Netherlands, is used and taken into account in the investigation. I would like to mention that Russia always responds to all enquiries it receives.

There is still no clear response to the materials of the briefing carried out by the Russian Ministry of Defence on September 17, 2018 about the Ukrainian origin of the missile that hit the Boeing. They could also be instrumental in carrying out an unbiased and professional investigation of the reasons for the crash of Flight MH-17. This is only part of the questions to which we would like to have answers. We have been regularly asking them without getting a response.

The dialogue on organising a meeting is still going on and the first contact in the trilateral format can take place in the next few months, if the Netherlands and Australia stop employing ultimatums and evidence-free political accusations  and agree to a meaningful and professional dialogue about key issues of the Boeing crash. We welcome the prospect of such a dialogue.

I would like to note that Russian and Dutch Foreign Ministers discussed the issue of consultations on the “MH-17 case” early in December 2018, during a brief interaction on the sidelines of the OSCE Ministerial Council in Milan. It is unlikely that the Dutch Foreign Ministry has a short memory.