THE HAGUE, March 8. /TASS/. The countries of the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) investigating the downing of the MH17 flight in Ukraine have prolonged the cooperation agreement, the Dutch Public Prosecution Service said on Sunday.
"The prolongation ensures the investigation into the downing of MH17 continues unabated and in parallel with the trial of the four suspects," the service said in a press release.
"Uncovering the truth is a very time consuming and methodical process. Tomorrow the Netherlands will begin the trial of the four suspects, however this does not mean the investigation into those responsible has been finalized," Deputy Chief Public Prosecutor of the Netherlands Public Prosecution Service Digna van Boetzelaer said.
She added that the Public Prosecution Service was ready and pointed out that "the trial is an important step towards finding truth and accountability."
The Boeing-777 passenger plane operated by Malaysian Airlines crashed in eastern Ukraine on July 17, 2014, while en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur. A total of 298 people, citizens of 10 countries, were killed in the crash. The parties to the armed conflict in Donbass traded blame over the tragedy.
Despite active combat actions, Kiev did not close airspace over Donbass for international passenger flights. The Joint Investigation Team (JIT) was set up to investigate the tragedy, consisting of representatives from Australia, Belgium, Malaysia, the Netherlands and Ukraine.
In June 2019, the JIT said it had identified four individuals suspected of being involved in the MH17 crash. They are three Russian nationals Igor Girkin, also known under the nickname of Strelkov, Sergei Dubinsky, Oleg Pulatov and a Ukrainian national, Leonid Kharchenko. The trial is scheduled to begin in the Netherlands on March 9. Russia’s authorities have repeatedly voiced doubt over the JIT’s findings, pointing to the lack of evidence and its reluctance to take into account Moscow’s conclusions made during the investigation.