“Ready to consider new facts”: Malaysia does not trust accusations of Russia's involvement in the crash of MH17

Malaysia doubts that there are sufficient grounds to accuse Russia of involvement in the crash of a Boeing flight MH17 in eastern Ukraine in 2014. This was stated by Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad.

“Yes, we doubt it (Russia's involvement. - RT ). As an uninvited person, as an outside observer, I can say that some of the results of the investigation do not seem right to me, like many people in Malaysia, ”he said in an interview with RIA Novosti.

At the same time, Mohamad is not sure that the arguments presented by the countries of the Joint Investigative Group (CVG) are based on facts. He explained that Malaysia was allowed to investigate too late, and therefore there is no way to double-check the reports.

“Now they have recognized that Malaysia can take part in the investigation. But this was done after they presented their reports. And we do not know the evidence that we now have access to, after a long time, whether it can really be based on facts, ”Mohamad emphasized.

The Prime Minister of Malaysia proposed the creation of a special agency to investigate the tragedy, in which neutral experts will be represented - not from those countries whose citizens died in a plane crash.

“There must be experts from different countries who have experience in investigating similar disasters. And they must find out what happened. But when the investigation is conducted by the parties that suffered from this tragedy, naturally, they will be a little biased, ”the head of government said.

The search for those responsible for the crash of MH17 is explained by the desire to elicit compensation for the victims and their relatives, Mohamad is convinced.

“If you can find the country responsible for the tragedy, then the relatives of the victims will be able to present their claims for insurance payments,” he explained.

“The charges are premature”

Malaysian Foreign Minister and Member of National Parliament Dato Sayfuddin Abdullah in an interview with RT also noted that distrust of the investigation arose a long time ago. According to him, it is connected both with the fact that the country was not immediately allowed to investigate, as well as with the fact that accusations against Russia began before the end of the investigation.

“As for Malaysia, firstly, we want such accusations not to be brought forward before the end of the investigation. In addition, you need to wait for the court hearing scheduled for March next year. We hope that by then all the evidence will be collected. Secondly, it would be nice, even before the trial, at some stage to obtain other evidence from individuals and other parties who may have their own evidence and strong opinion regarding the ongoing investigation, ”he said.

“We are ready to consider new facts. Most importantly, the allegations made before the investigation is completed are premature, ”said Dato Sayfuddin Abdullah.

The task of the SSG is not to conduct an objective investigation, but to blame Russia for the tragedy, political analyst Yuri Svetov said in a conversation with RT.

“Here, once such a line has been chosen, they will fight to the last, proving that Russia is to blame. Otherwise, the question immediately becomes: for what all these years there have been sanctions, accusations, insults? The bet is on the tor that time is passing, the tragedy will be forgotten, and everything will end with nothing, ”he said.

At the same time, Malaysia is determined to find the true causes of the tragedy, since the liner belonged to it, and the country itself is not a member of the European Union, which gives it some independence in its judgments, Svetov added.

“Since the liner is Malaysian, and the Malaysian government is neither part of the EU, nor other associations that have supported unproven accusations in friendly ranks, the truth is more important to them than the imaginary solidarity of these countries,” he explained.

The creation of a neutral body to investigate the causes of the tragedy will face serious resistance from the West, experts say. Konstantin Blokhin, an expert at the Center for Security Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, believes that Malaysia may face pressure due to such an initiative.

“Obviously, we should expect that a wave will rise in the West with the aim of confronting the creation of an independent body that would investigate impartially. Malaysia and Russia need the truth. These points of confrontation in this problem are clearly highlighted. This is a question of ideological confrontation. I think that battles will take place first, pressure will be provided on the Malaysian side, ”he told RT.

To create such a department, it is necessary that the general mood in the foreign policy arena change, within which it is customary to blame Russia, Svetov is convinced.

"I do not believe in that. Until the general situation changes. The atmosphere is such that Russia should be put in a corner for anything at all costs. Russia is to blame initially. Until the general mood changes, nothing will happen, ”the political scientist stated.

Investigation progress

Recall that the Boeing 777 of flight MH17 crashed in eastern Ukraine on July 17, 2014. SSG was created to investigate the causes of the disaster, which killed 298 people - mostly Dutch citizens. The group was headed by Holland, and in addition to it, Australia, Belgium, Ukraine and Malaysia joined the investigation. Shortly after the start of the work, the SSG accused Russia of involvement in the crash.

At the same time, Malaysia has repeatedly called into question the international investigation - the country's leadership accused him of politicization and the desire to blame the tragedy on Russia.

Moscow noted the unproven allegations. The Russian side is conducting its own investigation, during which the arguments of the SSG were refuted and new information was provided. In particular, the Russian Federation published recordings of talks by the Ukrainian military, as well as technical documentation for the rocket, which, according to the SSG version, shot down a Boeing. According to this information, the Ukrainian military was involved in the tragedy. However, in Moscow it was stated that international investigators ignored the data provided by Russia.

It is worth noting that on Thursday, September 5, under the personal guarantee in Kiev, the former head of the air defense of the Slavic brigade of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic, Vladimir Tsemakh, who in the opinion of the Ukrainian media may be a “valuable witness”, was released.

At the same time, Tsemakh took the post of head of the air defense three months after the crash. Moreover, according to the officer’s relatives, he was abducted from the DPR. The republic itself believes that the Ukrainian side needs Tzemakh to falsify the investigation.

According to Svetov, Tsemakh was released due to the fact that he lost interest for the SSG and Ukraine.

“The joyful seized that he really was engaged in providing air defense in this region, now it turns out that there was no air defense there and he was engaged in several other affairs, and most importantly, at the time this tragedy happened, he didn’t work there at all. They arrested with thunder and noise, and released quietly, ”the expert explained.