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Russia ready to hand over data ahead of MH17 court hearing in Netherlands — diplomat

Earlier, the Dutch foreign minister informed that the Dutch government had addressed Russia with a request for cooperation in the investigation into the failure to restrict airspace over eastern Ukraine on the day of the MH17 crash

MOSCOW, December 23. /TASS/. Russia is ready to hand over the data regarding the MH17 crash in Donbass for the upcoming court hearing in the Netherlands, Russia’s Permanent Representative to the EU Vladimir Chizhov stated during a press conference on Monday.

"We are ready to cooperate in the investigation of all circumstances of this incident. As far as I am aware, court hearings on this matter will begin in the Netherlands in March. In this context, we are ready to hand over the data in our possession," he said in response to a TASS request for comment regarding the Dutch Foreign Ministry urging Russia to cooperate in the investigation of the failure to close the airspace over eastern Ukraine on the day of the MH17 crash.

Earlier, Dutch Foreign Minister Stef Blok informed that the Dutch government had addressed Russia with a request for cooperation in the investigation regarding the failure to restrict airspace over eastern Ukraine on the day of the MH17 crash.

The Boeing-777 passenger plane operated by Malaysian Airlines crashed on July 17, 2014, en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur in the east of the Donetsk Region. As a result, 298 people were killed, the majority of them Dutch citizens. The parties to the armed conflict in Donbass accused each other of being complicit in the tragedy.

A Joint Investigation Team (JIT), consisting of representatives from Australia, Belgium, Malaysia, the Netherlands and Ukraine, was established to investigate the crash. In June of this year, the investigators named four suspects in the case. The court proceedings are set to begin in the Netherlands on March 9, 2020.