Australia and the Netherlands have both formally accused Russia of being responsible for the shooting down of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 in July 2014, with the loss of 298 lives – in a major escalation of diplomatic tensions between Moscow and the West. After four years of intense international investigation, including the forensic reconstruction of the fuselage of the Boeing 777 aircraft, the two countries issued a joint statement, following a Dutch cabinet meeting, saying they believed Russia was “directly involved” in the disaster. “On the basis of the JIT conclusions, the Netherlands and Australia are now convinced that Russia is responsible for the deployment of the Buk installation that was used to destroy MH17 over eastern Ukraine’, said Mr Blok. Ms Mogherini called on Russia to “accept its responsibility and fully co-operate with all efforts to establish accountability”. Nato headquarters in Brussels, and British foreign secretary Boris Johnson, followed suit within hours.

Source: The Irish Times May 25, 2018 11:00 UTC