UKRAINE-CRISIS/MH17-RUSSIA Russia and Ukraine rebels reject Dutch report on MH17

Record ID: 135439

  • Title: UKRAINE-CRISIS/MH17-RUSSIA Russia and Ukraine rebels reject Dutch report on MH17
  • Date: 14th October 2015
  • Summary: MOSCOW, RUSSIA (OCTOBER 14, 2015) (REUTERS) SIGN AT NEWS CONFERENCE READING (Russian): "PRESS CONFERENCE OF THE DEPUTY HEAD OF ROSAVIATION OLEG STORCHEVOY" STORCHEVOY TAKING SEAT (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) DEPUTY HEAD OF RUSSIA'S AVIATION AUTHORITY, OLEG STORCHEVOY, SAYING: "First of all we are familiar with the document, with the final report, and in all responsibility I can say that the commission of the Russian Federation categorically disagrees with the conclusions made in the final report. They are fundamentally wrong." MEDIA AT NEWS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) DEPUTY HEAD OF RUSSIA'S AVIATION AUTHORITY, OLEG STORCHEVOY, SAYING: "I want to underline that Russia has never promoted any concrete version, so as not to pressure the investigative commission. We called for a careful consideration of all the data and to analyse all variations of the course of events. But unfortunately the Russian side was excluded from full participation in research and expertise." NEWS CONFERENCE IN PROGRESS DONETSK, UKRAINE (OCTOBER 14, 2015) (REUTERS) SELF-PROCLAIMED DONETSK PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC DEFENCE SPOKESPERSON, EDUARD BASURIN, TAKING SEAT MEDIA AT NEWS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) SELF-PROCLAIMED DONETSK PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC DEFENCE SPOKESPERSON, EDUARD BASURIN, SAYING: "Any sane person who studied all the official testimony, including the maps we had presented, could not but have come to the conclusion that if the Boeing 777 was hit from the ground it could only have been from the territory controlled at that time by the Ukrainian army, the village of Zaroshchenske, and by a weapon that the Ukrainian army has in stock." CAMERA OPERATORS BASURIN GESTURING AT MAP
  • Embargoed: 29th October 2015 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Ukraine
  • Country: Ukraine
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA4Q37A8GCY1EE1MN0O7DBO4FXA
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Both Russia's Aviation authority and pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine on Wednesday (October 14) rejected the Netherlands' safety board report into the causes of the downing of Malaysia airlines flight MH17 in July 2014.
    The Dutch Safety Board concluded on Tuesday in its final report on the crash that the plane was shot down over eastern Ukraine by a Russian-made Buk missile. But the report did not point the finger at any group or party for launching the missile.
    At a news conference in Moscow, the deputy head of Russia's aviation authority, Oleg Storchevoy, said Russia found the Dutch report fundamentally wrong.
    "First of all we are familiar with the document, with the final report, and in all responsibility I can say that the commission of the Russian Federation categorically disagrees with the conclusions made in the final report. They are fundamentally wrong," said Storchevoy.
    Russia's foreign ministry had earlier said that the Dutch report had been an attempt to carry out political orders.
    "I want to underline that Russia has never promoted any concrete version, so as not to pressure the investigative commission. We called for a careful consideration of all the data and to analyse all variations of the course of events. But unfortunately the Russian side was excluded from full participation in research and expertise," said Storchevoy.
    The crash in July 2014 killed all 298 people on board, most of them Dutch.
    In the pro-Russian rebel held city of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine, self proclaimed Donetsk people's republic defence spokesperson Eduard Basurin accused the Ukrainian military of shooting the passenger plane down.
    "Any sane person who studied all the official testimony, including the maps we had presented, could not but have come to the conclusion that if the Boeing 777 was hit from the ground it could only have been from the territory controlled at that time by the Ukrainian army, the village of Zaroshchenske, and by a weapon that the Ukrainian army has in stock," said Basurin.
    Although the Dutch report did not assign blame, it is almost certain to further strain diplomatic ties between the Netherlands and its allies and Russia.
    After the crash, many experts and Western governments said they believed the rebels had fired on the Malaysia Airlines plane, mistakenly believing it was a Ukrainian military transporter.
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