Russia and Europe negotiate deal on MH17 air disaster
Russia, the Netherlands and Australia have begun confidential negotiations on the catastrophe in which a Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 (MH17) from Amsterdam to Kuala-Lumpur was shot down over the Donbas in 2014.
The first round of trilateral consultations, without announcement or PR accompaniment, took place earlier in March, announced Dutch Foreign Minister Stef Blok at a press conference in Australia after placing a wreath on the memorial of the tragedy that claimed 298 lives.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry also confirmed the start of negotiations. Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko told TASS that the negotiations will be “confidential in nature” according to the agreements that have been signed.
However, the Netherlands has decided to unveil some of the secrecy. The goal of the negotiations is to discuss the matter of Moscow’s legal responsibility for what happened, Blok said on Thursday while addressing parliament.
“We cannot go into the details of the process, because confidentiality plays an important role here. But I can say the following: We are still committed to the quest for truth, justice and accountability,” the minister stressed.
This does not mean that Russia has admitted its responsibility for the catastrophe, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova said in February when announcing the upcoming negotiations. She added that Moscow had agreed to take part in the meetings only if Europe and Australia confirmed their willingness to discuss “the entire set of questions related to the case investigation”.
However, there can be accountability without an admission of guilt. The crash of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, in December 1988 resulted in a potentially similar deal. The passenger plane was destroyed by a bomb, which the British investigation traced back to Libyan intelligence agents, including a cousin of Muammar Gaddafi. In 1991, the UN imposed sanctions on Libya, and 8 years later Gaddafi agreed to hand over the suspected terrorists for trial. In 2003, Libya paid out $10 million in compensation to the families of each of the 270 casualties, but never officially admitted its responsibility for the incident.
The Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 flight MH17 was shot down on July 17, 2014 over separatist-held territory of the Donetsk region. All 298 people on board were killed. Passengers of the flight included citizens of 10 countries. The majority of the victims (196 people) were citizens of the Netherlands.
The Joint Investigation Team (JIT)—which includes representatives from Australia, Belgium, Malaysia, the Netherlands, and Ukraine—has carried out criminal investigation of the tragedy. The countries participating in the investigation have agreed not to create a separate tribunal, and decided that those responsible would be brought before the Dutch court.
On May 24, 2018, the JIT presented additional evidence of Russia’s crucial role in the tragic air disaster. The JIT concluded that the Buk ground-to-air missile system that shot down the passenger airplane was in service of the 53rd anti-aircraft missile brigade of the Russian Armed Forces stationed in Kursk.
On May 25, the Dutch government took steps to hold Russia accountable for the crash of flight MH17, a process which will be managed separately from prosecuting the perpetrators.
Australia stated it will seek payment of compensation from Russia to the families of the MH17 crash victims.
The President of Ukraine instructed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to immediately submit proposals on joining the Netherlands-Australia-initiated case against Russia at the interstate level in connection with this air disaster.