Statement by Russian MFA on the international investigation into the crash of the Malaysian airplane in Ukrainian airspace
As is well known, on 21 July the UN Security Council adopted unanimously a Resolution demanding international investigation into the crash of the Malaysian airplane in Ukraine. In particular, the Resolution calls upon all belligerent parties to immediately cease hostilities in the area of the plane crash and ensure access to the site for investigating authorities, the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission in Ukraine and other international organisations providing assistance to the investigation.
In violation of this demand by the Security Council, Kiev publically declared its intention to take control of the crash site by military means and launched a military offensive in this area. As a result, several attempts by members of the international investigation team based in Donetsk to access the crash site and begin their work were foiled.
At the UN Security Council meeting on 28 July the Russian delegation drew the attention to the evident fact of violation by Kiev of the Security Council demands and proposed to negotiate a Security Council press statement recalling the UNSCR 2166, in particular its paragraph 7 demanding that all military activities be immediately ceased in the area surrounding the crash site. Unfortunately, our initiative was blatantly blocked by US, United Kingdom and Lithuanian representatives.
This is another obvious attempt to shield the Kiev authorities hindering a truly independent and impartial international investigation into the circumstances of the tragedy.
29 July 2014
