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Kremlin declines to comment on new MH17 crash findings

The Kremlin spokesman reiterated Moscow’s position on the investigation, saying that it is well-known

MOSCOW, June 19. /TASS/. The Kremlin is not planning to discuss the conclusions of the Dutch-led Joint Investigation Team (JIT) on the MH17 crash in eastern Ukraine in July 2014 before they are published, Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday.

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"I don’t consider this is possible to speak about something eventually, without any publications. So far, there haven’t been any publications, and that’s why there is nothing to discuss," Peskov said.

Peskov reiterated Moscow’s position on the investigation, saying that it is well-known. "Russia has not been given the opportunity to take part in it, although from the very beginning, from the first days after this tragedy it showed the initiative, and was eager to join the investigation into this awful crash."

The Joint Investigation Team is planning to hold a news conference on Wednesday to report about progress in the probe. Dutch media reports say that the names of persons, who are allegedly responsible for the tragedy, will be unveiled.

The Boeing-777 passenger plane operated by Malaysian Airlines, performing flight MH17 from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, crashed on July 17, 2014 in the east of the Donetsk Region. As a result, 298 people, citizens of 10 states, were killed in the crash. Despite active combat actions on Ukrainian soil, Kiev did not close the skies over Donbass for international passenger flights. The Joint Investigation Team (JIT), consisting of representatives from Australia, Belgium, Malaysia, the Netherlands and Ukraine, was set up to investigate the tragedy.

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