MOSCOW, July 25 (RIA Novosti) – Moscow has emphasized the importance of international efforts under the United Nations of providing safety to experts in eastern Ukraine handling the investigation into the Malaysia Airlines passenger plane that crashed last week.
“From the Russian side, we emphasize the need of carrying out a complete, objective, and nonbiased investigation into the causes of the airliner crash. The importance of international efforts under the aegis of the UN is emphasized to provide safety for the experts handling this investigation at the crash site,” a document released by the Russian Foreign Ministry after a meeting between Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin and British Ambassador Tim Barrow in Moscow.
Media reports said the Netherlands and Australia are drafting a new UN Security Council resolution to allow armed police or troops to secure the MH17 crash site.
A team of 23 investigators is due to be sent to the area, to be accompanied by 40 unarmed Dutch military policemen, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said earlier.
A Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 heading from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur crashed July 17 near the city of Donetsk in Ukraine, killing all 298 people on board. The UN Security Council condemned the downing of the passenger plane and unanimously voted in support of a thorough and independent international investigation of the incident. The Dutch Safety Board (DSB) has formally taken over the investigation.
Earlier this week the Russian Foreign Ministry urged both sides of the Ukrainian conflict to end military actions around the crash site to ensure the security of international aviation specialists that arrived in eastern Ukraine shortly after the accident. A number of other countries such as the Netherlands, Malaysia and the United Kingdom echoed the call, stressing the importance of an independent investigation into the tragedy.
Last week the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) said their observers did not gain full access to the plane’s crash site due to the ongoing Kiev-led military operation in eastern Ukraine.
