Moscow/Washington : Russian aviation officials say they have uncovered new evidence about the 2014 downing of a Malaysian jet over eastern Ukraine and are asking Dutch investigators to look into the findings, reports AP.
The Dutch Safety Board said in its final report released in October that Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 was destroyed by a Soviet-made Buk surface-to-air missile. Moscow has been anxious to deflect suspicion from the rebels it is backing in eastern Ukraine who said before the crash they had this type of missiles. In a letter to the Dutch Safety Board chairman published, the Russian Aviation Agency said its experts have since conducted experiments and research that proved the Dutch probe and its conclusions to be “unsubstantiated and inaccurate.”
Meanwhile, US President Barack Obama made a phone call with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to discuss the Ukraine crisis, Syria peace talks and the recent nuclear test by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK).
“President Obama emphasised the importance of working towards a diplomatic solution to the crisis in Ukraine through full implementation of the Minsk agreements by all parties,” a White House statement as saying.
Obama underscored that “the key next step” is for the sides to reach agreement on the modalities of local elections in the Donbass region of Ukraine, which must meet standards of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). Representatives of Ukraine, Russia and the Donetsk People’s Republic reached an agreement in Minsk, to halt the war in the Donbass region. But the deal has failed to stop the fighting in the region.
