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All those response for MH17 crash must be held accountable for their actions - Ban Ki-moon

The Boeing 777 of the Malaysia Airlines (MH17) en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur crashed on July 17, 2014

UNITED NATIONS, July 17. /TASS/. It’s necessary to pay homage to the victims of the Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 crash in Ukraine in July 2014, to ascertain the truth and ensure that all those response are brought to account, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Friday on the occasion of the anniversary of the tragedy.

"While the pain caused by this tragedy cannot be erased, the victims must be honoured by a collective effort to ascertain the truth about the incident and ensure that any persons determined responsible will be held to account," says a statement released by the Secretary General’s office.

He also welcomed "the progress made by the independent international investigation in accordance with Security Council Resolution 2166."

According to Ban Ki-moon, "this anniversary is another stark reminder of the continuing dire situation in eastern Ukraine and the need to bring an urgent end to this conflict."

Currently, a draft resolution on establishing the tribunal for the prosecution of those responsible for the tragedy is under consideration at the UN Security Council.

Russia’s Ambassador to the UN Vitaly Churkin earlier said that he saw "no prospects" for the draft resolution on the tribunal. He noted that it was necessary "to put it aside, to wait for the investigation results and then to consider how to organize the trial more effectively."

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 Lugansk have been accusing each other of the crash. The crash is being investigated by the Dutch Safety Board.