BRUSSELS (Sputnik) — Australia, Belgium, Malaysia, the Netherlands and Ukraine have urged the UN Security Council to support a proposal to set up an international tribunal for the prosecution of those responsible for downing Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, the Belgian Foreign Ministry’s press service said in a press release on Monday.
“Australia, Belgium, Malaysia, the Netherlands and Ukraine call upon members of the Security Council to support this proposal to ensure that those responsible are held to account and to deter those who would threaten civil aviation,” the press release said.
Russia's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Vitaly Churkin, said last week that the draft resolution fails to correctly classify the crash, adding that there is no precedent for international tribunals being created following civilian aircraft crashes. Churkin recommended waiting for the results of the investigation being carried out by the Dutch Safety Board.
On July 17, 2014, flight MH17 was en route to Kuala Lumpur from Amsterdam when it crashed in southeastern Ukraine. All 298 people on board the aircraft died.
Independence supporters in southeastern Ukraine and Kiev forces, engaged in fighting in the region, accused each other of causing the tragedy.
