All news

Australia FM: MH17 crash site video "sickening to watch"

Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said it is deeply concerning that the footage emerged now
Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews, File
Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop
© AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews, File

SINGAPORE, July 17. /TASS/. The Australian authorities cannot verify authenticity of the video released by News Corp earlier today which appears to show people at the crash site of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 downed over Ukraine last July, Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said on Friday.

People on the video appear to go through debris of the crashed plane, discussing the situation and talking on the phone.

"It is sickening to watch and, 12 months on from the downing of MH17, it is deeply concerning that this footage has emerged now," Bishop said, calling for establishing an international tribunal on Flight MH17 crash over eastern Ukraine.

Russia has repeatedly stated that it considers establishing an international tribunal premature and counter-productive. In the telephone conversation with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte on Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin detailed Russia’s position on the initiative of a range of countries, including the Netherlands, on establishing the international tribunal to persecute persons responsible for destroying the Malaysian airliner.

"The focus was made on adopting a decision on judicial mechanisms and bringing those guilty in this crime to justice, active work is needed to complete the international investigation that should be thorough and objective and have an independent and comprehensive character," the Kremlin press service said. This should be in full compliance with the provisions of Resolution 2166 of the UN Security Council adopted on July 21, 2014 upon Russia’s initiative, the press service stressed, adding that politicized smear campaigns in the media regarding the causes of the crash were inadmissible.

On 17 July 2014, a Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 passenger airliner on flight MH17 from the Dutch city of Amsterdam to the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur crashed in the Donetsk Region in eastern Ukraine, killing all 298 people on board. Most passengers - 193 people - were Dutch nationals.