LONDON (Sputnik) – British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond has spoken in favour of creating an international tribunal to investigate the crash of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 in southeastern Ukraine.
"A year ago today, 298 people, including 80 children, lost their lives on MH17. Justice must be delivered for the 298 innocent people who lost their lives. That requires an international tribunal, backed by a resolution binding all UN member states, to prosecute those responsible," Hammond said as quoted by The Telegraph on Friday.
According to the foreign secretary, undermining the prosecution could not be tolerated as it would deprive the victims of the MH17 crash of justice.
July 17 marks a year since Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, crashed in Ukraine's eastern region of Donetsk killing all 298 people on board, mostly Dutch citizens.
According to a preliminary report by the Dutch Safety Board, the Boeing 777 plane fell apart in mid-air after being hit by numerous high-energy objects.
The Malaysian delegation has come up with a draft UN Security Council resolution on establishing an international tribunal to prosecute those responsible for the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17.
In June, Russian arms manufacturer Almaz-Antey unveiled the results of its own inquiry into the crash, showing that flight MH17 was downed by a guided missile launched by a Buk-M1 system. The particular missile has not been produced in Russia since 1999, but remains in service in the Ukrainian army, according to Almaz-Antey.
On Tuesday, the Dutch Public Prosecution Service said that the Netherlands had sent a new investigative mission to southeastern Ukraine to collect more evidence on the MH17 crash.
A final Dutch Safety Board report on the accident is due in October.
