BUNNIK /Netherlands/, May 24. /TASS/. Only NATO and Kiev could have a motive for downing flight MH17 in July 2014, Emeritus Professor at the University of Sussex's School of Global Studies Kees van der Pijl told TASS on Thursday.

"The motive for such an act, unless it was an accident, can only have existed on the NATO/Kiev side, because the downing eventually worked to remove EU objections to a new round of US sanctions on Russia imposed on the July 16, one day before the downing," he said, adding that it "is not in itself proof of their actual complicity, only a strong hint." According to the expert, "the same applies to the immunity from criminal prosecution granted to Ukraine on 7 August, as well as the provisions both in the technical and criminal investigations nominally led by the Netherlands, that only after consent of all parties, results would be made public -which the Kiev news agency UNIAN considered a sign of Ukrainian guilt, because why would you otherwise demand such a provision."

Van der Pijl pointed out that his book "is a study in political economy, it investigates how changes in the class structure, for instance the ascent of speculative finance, influences the mentality of an entire period, in this case by popularizing the notion of 'risk' and the role of gambling at high stakes, both in politics and the economy proper." "The audience are reasonably well-educated people tired of the Russia-bashing, of which there are more than you would expect if you see the mainstream media," he said.

"There is no doubt the book will be attacked as a 'conspiracy theory' (this is already happening even though it is not yet out) but this label is being used for every account that departs from the official narrative concerning any matter," van der Pijl went on to say. "In this case it is singularly inappropriate because whereas the official investigations (DSB [Dutch Safety Board] and JIT [Joint Investigation Team]) come up with definite claims about the weapon used and the perpetrators, the book does not make such pertinent assertions, only presents probabilities in light of circumstances, motives, opportunities," he said.

Earlier on Thursday, the Joint Investigation Team looking into the MH17 crash gave an update of the state of affairs in the criminal investigation. According to JIT, "the BUK-TELAR that was used to down MH17, originates from the 53rd Anti-Aircraft Missile brigade (hereinafter 53rd brigade), a unit of the Russian army from Kursk in the Russian Federation."

MH17 crash case

The Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17, a Boeing-777 passenger plane travelling from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, was shot down on July 17, 2014, over Ukraine’s eastern region of Donetsk. The crash killed all the 283 passengers and 15 crewmembers. There were nationals of ten states among the dead.

The Joint Investigation Team comprises representatives of the Netherlands, Australia, Belgium, Malaysia and Ukraine.