Russia responsible for Malaysian airliner MH17 crash in Ukraine in 2014, says UN aviation agency
ICAO said the claims brought by Australia and the Netherlands, the countries with most fatalities in the tragedy, were "well founded in fact and in law".
Russia is responsible for the July 2014 crash of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 in the rebel-held east of Ukraine that killed all 298 people onboard, the United Nations aviation agency said.
The Montreal-based International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) said that the claims brought by Australia and the Netherlands, the countries with the most fatalities in the tragedy, were "well-founded in fact and law".
"The Russian Federation failed to uphold its obligations under international air law in the 2014 downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17," the agency said in a statement on Monday.
The UN aviation agency said that this was the first time that its council decided based on the merits of a dispute between member states, news agency AFP reported.
Malaysian airliner 2014 crash
A Boeing 777 of the Malaysia Airlines, enroute from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur with 298 people on board, crashed in the village above Grabove, near the town of Shakhtarsk in east Ukraine's Donetsk region after it was shot down on July 17, 2014.
Of the 298, 189 passengers were of Dutch nationality, around 100 were delegates enroute to Melbourne via Kuala Lumpur.
The plane crash was termed a "terrorist act" by the then-Ukrainian president, Petro Poroshenko.
Russian President Vladimir Putin had said that Ukraine bore the "responsibility" for the Malaysian jetliner's crash as pro-Russian rebels claimed that the MH17 aircraft was shot down by a Ukrainian military jet.
A day after the incident, the then-US President Barack Obama had said that a missile fired from a separatist-held territory was the reason for the downing of the Malaysian airline flight, adding that it would not have been possible for the rebels without Russian backing.
However, Russia has consistently denied any involvement in the tragedy.
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In 2022, a Dutch court sentenced three men to life in prison for the downing of the aircraft, and among them, two were Russians. While one Russian was acquitted for lack of evidence. Moscow had at the time refused to extradite its two convicted citizens.
In 2023, a team of international investigators from the Netherlands, Australia, Malaysia, Belgium, and Ukraine said there were "strong indications" that Russian President Putin had approved the supply of the missile that struck the Boeing 777 in July 2014.
But last year, the probe was suspended, with the investigators saying that there was not enough evidence to identify more suspects in the matter.
Australia, Netherlands welcome UN's decision
The UN aviation agency's decision was welcomed by the governments of Australia and Netherlands, with both of them pressing for action against Russia.
In a statement, the Australian government said, "This is a historic moment in the pursuit of truth, justice and accountability for the victims of the downing of Flight MH17, and their families and loved ones."
It called upon the agency to "move swiftly to determine remedies" for Russia's violation of international law and also called upon Moscow "to finally face up to its responsibility for this horrific act of violence and make reparations for its egregious conduct, as required under international law".
Meanwhile, Dutch foreign minister Casper Veldkamp said, "The decision cannot take away their grief and suffering, but it is an important step towards truth-finding, justice and accountability for all victims of flight MH17 and their relatives."
He added that in the coming weeks, the ICAO council "will consider the manner in which the legal redress should take place.
Veldkamp stated that the Netherlands and Australia want the council to make Russia enter negotiations with them and for it to supervise the process.
(with AFP inputs)
