Russia should follow Iran's example and acknowledge responsibility for shooting down MH17. This was stated by Dutch Minister Stef Blok (Foreign Affairs) at a meeting with his Canadian counterpart about the recent plane crash in Iran.
Last week, after two days of denials, Iran admitted responsibility for accidentally shooting down a Ukrainian passenger plane near Tehran. This occurred amid rising military tensions following a U.S. strike on a high-ranking Iranian military commander in Baghdad.
Dutch parliamentarians called Minister Blok's call very appropriate, as Russian involvement in shooting down the Malaysian MH17 over Eastern Ukraine has already been proven multiple times by various bodies. Nevertheless, Russia has so far refused any form of shared responsibility or liability. It could gain more weight if Minister Blok also ensures that all European ministers back this call to Moscow, as a strong signal to President Putin, it was said.
At the end of last year, official diplomatic talks regarding MH17 between the Netherlands and Russia took place for the first time. So far, Moscow has rejected all responsibility and/or liability and has made accusations against the international JIT experts who investigated the shooting down of MH17. The Dutch side has already made it clear to the Kremlin that it is still not too late for a public apology to the victims' relatives.
In March, the trial will begin in the Netherlands against four suspects involved in the attack with the Russian-made BUK missile on MH17. The Dutch Judiciary has summoned three Ukrainians and one Russian, but it is doubtful whether they will appear at their trial. If not, they will be tried in absentia.
Exactly what the four men are suspected of will only be disclosed during the reading of the indictment. The trial will be held in the high-security court on the grounds of Schiphol Airport. It has been reported earlier that the four suspects were involved in some way in transporting the BUK missile from Russia to the final launch site in Eastern Ukraine.
Minister Blok considers it very important that a thorough investigation now takes place into the Iranian shooting down of the Ukrainian plane, which also carried dozens of Iranian-Canadians. The Netherlands has offered Canada to share experiences and expertise from the MH17 disaster with Canadians and Iranians. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also called Prime Minister Rutte about this.
Prime Minister Rutte emphasized, among other things, how important it is to share information with the grieving families and that direct contacts with all parties are important. In a statement, Rutte expressed his condolences to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and stated he supports Trudeau’s claim.