KIEV, July 15. /TASS/. Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada has supported the motion to extend the agreement between Ukraine and the Netherlands on the investigation of the MH17 crash in the Donetsk region until August 1, 2016, with 261 lawmakers voting for the decision.
The bill ratifies the agreement "in the form of an exchanges of notes between Ukraine and the Kingdom of the Netherlands to extend until August 1, 2016, the validity period of the agreement between Ukraine and the Kingdom of the Netherlands on the International Mission for Protection of Investigation of July 28, 2014." The document was initiated by Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko.
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The passing of the bill was necessary for carrying out internal procedures in Ukraine to continue the investigation of the disaster. The explanatory note to the report says that the agreement promotes "further practical involvement of the Dutch side in the investigation of the causes of the Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 crash, which occurred in Ukraine on July 17, 2014."
The Ukrainian side delegated the Netherlands the powers to conduct the investigation of the crash in accordance with the Memorandum of Understanding between the foreign ministers of the two countries of July 28, 2014.
The Boeing 777 of the Malaysia Airlines (MH17) en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur crashed on July 17, 2014, in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region. All the passengers and crewmembers onboard the aircraft - 298 people, citizens of 10 states - died. Most of the passengers - 196 people - were Dutch citizens. According to the key theory of the crash, the plane was shot down by a surface-to-air or an air-to-air missile. The Ukrainian authorities and representatives of the self-proclaimed republics in Donetsk and Luhansk have been accusing each other of the crash. The crash is being investigated by the Dutch Safety Board.