Idea of setting up tribunal on MH17 unacceptable to Russia

Russia is not satisfied with the idea of setting up a tribunal to prosecute those responsible for the flight MH17 crash in eastern Ukraine, as the investigation of the incident has not been completed and there were no precedents for creating such bodies, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov said on Tuesday, commenting on the discussion of the relevant resolution at the UN Security Council at the request of TASS.

"Essentially, this idea is unacceptable to us for several reasons," the diplomat said. He noted that the investigation of the incident continued, and the report on its results would be released at the end of the year. He pointed to the difficulties connected with the setting of such a tribunal. "We know from our experience that it is a very time-consuming process. In this case, we consider it politically illogical and unnecessary," Gatilov said.

The Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777, flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, crashed in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region last July, some 60 kilometers (around 37 miles) from the Russian border in the zone of combat operations between Donetsk self-defence forces and the Ukrainian army. All 298 passengers and crew members on board perished, the Netherlands reporting 196 victims, the highest death toll in the disaster.