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Russia FM stresses Moscow still has questions regarding MH17 investigation

Sergey Lavrov said it's not clear why Malaysia was made part of the investigation only months after the air crash and why the (International Civil Aviation Organization remains in the background

KUALA LUMPUR, August 5. /TASS/. Russia hopes that investigation of Flight MH17 crash in eastern Ukraine last August will proceed in compliance with UN Security Council Resolution 2166, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Wednesday.

"It [the investigation] must be completed in full compliance with demands of UN Security Council Resolution 2166," Lavrov told journalists in Kuala Lumpur. "I hope that it will allow to prepare a report that will be comprehensive, that will let us all learn the truth and bring those guilty to justice," he added.

The Russian foreign minister stressed that Russia still has many questions for the ongoing investigation. In particular, he reminded that Malaysia was made part of the investigation only months after the air crash, and that ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization) which was supposed to play the main role in this investigation in accordance with UN Security Council, remains in the background.

UN Security Council Reolution 2166, adopted on 21 July 2015, stressed the need "for a full, thorough and independent international investigation into the incident in accordance with international civil aviation guidelines." The document also condemned "in the strongest terms the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 on 17 July in Donetsk Oblast" and demanded that "all military activities, including by armed groups, be immediately ceased in the immediate area surrounding the crash site to allow for security and safety of the international investigation."

On July 29, Russia vetoed the United Nations Security Council resolution on establishing an international tribunal to prosecute persons guilty of the MH17 plane crash over Ukraine on July 17, 2014. Eleven Security Council members voted for the Malaysia-proposed draft, which, in fact, was enough for its adoption but Russia used its right of veto. Another three countries, including Angola, Venezuela and China, abstained from voting.

MH17 crash in east Ukraine

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. The suspected cause of the crash is that the plane was hit by a surface-to-air missile. The Dutch Safety Board is conducting the investigation.