MH17 plane crash: victims’ relatives demand Russian responsibility as part of peace deal
Pravda Ukraine
Relatives of the victims of the 2014 MH17 crash, which killed 298 people, insist that there can be no reliable peace agreement without Russia’s recognition of responsibility for the downing of the aircraft.
Source: letters sent to US President Donald Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, copies of which are available to European Pravda
Details: In two letters to Trump and von der Leyen, relatives of the victims of MH17 spoke out earlier this month about a possible peace deal with Ukraine. They argue that a lasting agreement is difficult to achieve without Russia admitting responsibility for the downing of MH17.
Relatives of the victims have demanded that Russia recognise its role, apologise, and conduct a public investigation into all individuals involved and the causes of the downing. The Dutch government has consistently backed these demands. The relatives now believe their requests should be included in any future peaceful settlement.
They argue that without it, no lasting peace with Russia is possible.
Copies of the letters were also addressed to the Netherlands’ Prime Minister, Dick Schoof, the lower house’s committees (Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Justice and Security), and Kaja Kallas, the head of European diplomacy.
Background:
- On 17 November 2022, the District Court of The Hague sentenced Igor Girkin, Sergey Dubinsky and Leonid Kharchenko to life imprisonment in absentia for their role in the downing of Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 over Donbas and ordered their arrest. The court ruled that they must pay more than €16 million in compensation to the victims’ relatives.
- Russia has refused to hand over the three people involved in the downing, but Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof promised to fight to put them in prison on the 10th anniversary of the disaster.
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