The Council of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) concluded on May 12 that Russia was responsible for downing flight MH17 in July 2014.
Flight MH17 departed from Amsterdam Schiphol Airport en-route to Kuala Lumpur International Airport on July 17, 2014. Three hours into the flight, the Boeing-777 was shot down by Russian proxy forces using a Buk surface-to-air missile above Ukraine’s Donetsk Oblast.
All 283 passengers and 15 crew members on board, among them 196 Dutch citizens, were killed.
Russia never claimed responsibility for the disaster, instead fanning conspiracy theories to shift the blame elsewhere.
A "large majority" of ICAO members ruled in favor of the Netherlands and Australia in a case brought forth before the international body in 2022, the Dutch Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
The ruling deemed Russia "responsible for the downing of Flight MH17" adding that Russia's actions "violated the Convention on International Civil Aviation, known as the Chicago Convention," the statement added.
"In the coming weeks the ICAO Council will consider what form of reparation is in order," Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp said. "In that context the Netherlands and Australia are requesting that the ICAO Council order the Russian Federation to enter into negotiations with the Netherlands and Australia, and that the Council facilitate this process."
Relatives of the MH17 crash victims insist that Russia's recognition of responsibility for the downing of the plane should be part of a possible peace deal on ending Moscow's all-out war against Ukraine, European Pravda reported on Feb. 26, citing obtained copies of letters.
Ukraine's Ambassador to Canada Yulia Kovaliv, who also serves as Kyiv's ICAO representative, told European Pravda that the decision marks "another important step in holding (Russia) accountable."
"Civil aviation is a painful topic for the Russians, and we will continue working to ensure that violators of the Chicago Convention, such as Russia and Iran, are held accountable,” Kovaliv added.
The District Court of The Hague in November 2022 sentenced in absentia two Russian nationals and one Ukrainian national to life imprisonment for their involvement in the downing of flight MH17. A fourth defendant, also a Russian national, was acquitted on the grounds of insufficient evidence connecting him to the crime.
In another incident on Dec. 25, a Russian Pantsir air defense missile likely caused an Azerbaijan Airlines plane crash over Russian airspace, killing 38 of the 67 people on board.
Baku has previously accused Russia of accidentally shooting down the plane and demanded an admission of guilt and reparations.
Elsa Court
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