The Netherlands dealt another blow to relations with Russia, having decided to file a lawsuit against Moscow with the European Court of Human Rights in connection with the crash in 2014 of an airplane that followed flight MH17. This was stated by the official representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Maria Zakharova.

“We believe that this step will only lead to further politicization and complicate the search for truth,” said Zakharova.

According to her, the Netherlands noted “all evidence, evidence and expert assessments”, which did not coincide with their pre-selected scenario of events.

“The Hague from the very beginning embarked on the path of unilateral blaming Russia for the crash of flight MH17. As the events of the last six years that have passed since the tragedy showed, the Netherlands acted not in accordance with UNSC resolution 2166, but exclusively within the framework of the anti-Russian logic, which was subject to both technical and criminal investigations, ”the commentary posted on Russian Foreign Ministry website.

  • Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova
  • RIA News
  • © Press Service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation

On Friday, July 10, the Dutch government announced the decision to call Russia to the ECHR “in connection with its role in the collapse of MH17.” The Hague will also support all individual claims that will be brought to the ECHR by the relatives of the victims. Along with this, the kingdom attaches great importance to the continuation of negotiations with Russia, during which a decision can be found to compensate for the "enormous suffering and damage" caused by the plane crash.

It is noted that the Security Council is notified of a similar step by the state.

“Ensuring justice for 298 victims of the downed Boeing is and will remain a government priority. By taking this step - by filing a lawsuit with the ECHR and thus supporting individual lawsuits of relatives and friends by all means at our disposal - we are approaching this goal, ”said Dutch Foreign Minister Steph Blok.

In addition, as follows from a letter from the Kingdom’s Foreign Ministry addressed to the House of Representatives, the Netherlands, Australia and Russia are negotiating the MH17 case, but it may take years to achieve any results.

“The Netherlands will have the right to participate in hearings, answer any additional questions that the ECtHR may have, and, if necessary, provide new information on the case regarding the crash of flight MH17,” the letter says, the text of which is quoted by RIA Novosti .

  • The wreckage of the Boeing 777 fuselage, shot down in the sky over Ukraine in July 2014
  • Reuters
  • © Sergei Karpukhin

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation said that the Netherlands did not notify Moscow of the intention to file a lawsuit, however, as soon as the Hague complaint in the MH17 case is received, the department will organize the necessary work in cooperation with the competent authorities.

“Russia categorically rejects allegations of involvement in the crash of Boeing in the sky over Ukraine, that is, over the territory in respect of which Russia does not exercise jurisdiction in accordance with the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights. The Russian Federation will consistently uphold its interests in international courts, ”the Ministry of Justice said in a press release.

The ministry explained that the ECHR must first assess the admissibility of the complaint before proceeding with its examination of the merits.

In this regard, Vladimir Dzhabarov, First Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council Committee on Foreign Affairs, expressed hope in a conversation with RT that the court would not reach this stage.

“I believe this is a gross violation of justice, and I hope that the ECtHR will not take this risk into consideration, since the investigation was biased,” the senator said.

The crash of the passenger flight MH17, traveling from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, occurred on July 17, 2014 in the Donbass in the area of ​​military operations between the Armed forces of Ukraine and self-defense units of the Donetsk People’s Republic. The crash killed all 298 people who were on board (283 passengers and 15 crew members).

The blame for what happened with MH17 was almost immediately assigned by Western media and politicians to Moscow and the DPR. A Joint Investigative Group (SSG) was formed, including with the participation of representatives of Ukraine. However, Russia was not allowed to work.

At the same time, the Russian side provided the SSG with declassified technical data of Buk missiles and information on radar surveillance of airspace in the specified area at the time of the tragedy, as well as the results of an experiment conducted by the Buk manufacturer - Almaz-Antey concern.

Back in 2015, it was concluded that the Malaysian Boeing was hit by a 9M38 missile. Moreover, the concern indicated that the last missile of this type was launched back in the USSR and they are not in service with the Russian Federation.

Also, the Russian side handed over documentation that the rocket that hit the Boeing not only belonged to Ukraine, but was also launched from its territory. These data were also ignored by the GSS.

However, on March 9, 2020, the trial began. Four people became his defendants - the Russians Igor Strelkov, Sergey Dubinsky, Oleg Pulatov and the citizen of Ukraine Leonid Kharchenko.

Based on the results of recent hearings, the judge requested satellite images from the US authorities in the disaster area, which had previously been present in the case only in the form of a text description. At the same time, the court refused to translate the case materials into Russian. The next meeting is scheduled for August 31.