Foreign ministers from the Group of Seven (G7) leading industrialized nations on Sunday called on Russia to account for its role in the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17, which killed all 298 people on board.
Tuesday marks four years since the the Boeing 777 en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur was blown out of the sky by a missile believed to have been fired by Russian-aligned rebels in eastern Ukraine.
International investigators said in May that the BUK anti-aircraft system used to bring down the jet belonged to the Russian military.
The Netherlands and Australia, whose citizens made up the most passengers on the airliner, both hold Russia legally accountable and are demanding Moscow admit its role and cooperate with investigators.
Russia has denied any involvement in the disaster.
In a rules-based international order, those responsible for unacceptable actions, such as the firing or launching of the BUK missile of Russian origin, which intercepted and downed a civilian aircraft, must be held accountable, the ministers said in a joint statement.
To this end, we call on Russia to immediately engage with Australia and the Netherlands in good faith to explain and to address all relevant questions regarding any potential breaches of international law.
The G7 is composed of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Britain, and the United States.
The anniversary of the disaster on Tuesday falls a day after US President Donald Trump is due to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki. It it not known if Trump will raise the issue during the talks.(dpa/NAN)
Source: NAN