Dear Editor,
Russia has vetoed a draft of the UN Security Council resolution calling for an international tribunal on the crash of the Malaysian Airlines MH17 flight over eastern Ukraine on July 21, 2014.
Russian Envoy to the UN Mr Vitaly Churkin said that his country considers the issue of establishing an international tribunal concerning the MH17 catastrophe to be premature and counterproductive as the investigation of the crime is not completed and there is no clear evidence to blame any party.
Russia raises serious questions concerning the organization and conduct of the investigation and insists that ICAO should play the decisive role in it. In particular, Moscow highlights the refusal by the Ukrainian side, up to this moment, to make public the recording of the air-traffic controllers’ radio exchange with the pilots of flight MH17.
Meanwhile the Russian Federation remains the only country which has disclosed all the data related to the crash and continues to do its utmost to provide every possible assistance to the investigation. The Russian Defence Ministry has made available satellite images, radar and other data that call the Ukrainian government’s official narrative of events into question. The other evidence of that has been presented by Russia’s major defence company, Almaz-Antey, producing Buk missile launchers.Upon relaying this information to the Netherlands Russia had no feedback from the investigation committee.
The draft resolution on establishing the MH 17 tribunal has no legal basis and precedent. The UN Security Council is not authorized to conduct criminal justice procedures unless related to grave war crimes. There has been no precedent in creating an international tribunal for bringing to justice those who were accused of destroying civilian airliners. These crimes include the downing of a Russian airliner belonging to the Sibir Air Company in 2001 by Ukrainian armed forces over the Black Sea; the destruction of Iran Air flight IR655by the American Navy over the Persian Gulf on July 3, 1988; the blowning up of Pan American flight PA103 as a result of a terrorist act over Lockerbie in 1988; the Cubana de Aviacion flight CU455 over Barbados in 1976; the shooting down of Libyan Arab Airlines flight LN114 as a result of Israeli Air Force action in 1973.
Russia is convinced that the UN Security Council Resolution 2166, passed on July 21, 2014, remains the only basis for international cooperation in the interest of an independent and transparent investigation into the downing of the Malaysian airliner.
Under these circumstances, the Russian Federation voted against a politicised decision that was being forced on the Security Council and regrets that the sponsors of the MH17 tribunal draft resolution preferred to rush it without holding a discussion about other options.
The President of Russia during a telephone conversation on July 29 with the Prime Minister of the Netherlands called for a comprehensive and independent investigation into the tragedy. Vladimir Putin said that his country is ready for close cooperation in elucidating this crime’s causes and circumstances.
Russia condemns the destruction of the Malaysian MH17 aircraft and reiterates its most sincere condolences to the families of all passengers and crew who died as a result of this monstrous tragedy, insisting on its thorough investigation.
Yours faithfully,
Aleksei Illiuviev
Press Attaché
Russian Embassy in Guyana
