MOSCOW, July 29 (RIA Novosti) – Attempts by international experts to reach the crash site of a Malaysian passenger plane in eastern Ukraine have been hampered by a new round of hostilities launched by Kiev authorities in the area, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday.
The UN Security Council on July 21 unanimously adopted a resolution calling for an international investigation of the recent Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 crash in the Donetsk region that killed all 298 people on board.
“The resolution included a demand for all warring sides in the Ukrainian conflict to cease immediately all combat action near the crash site and ensure unhindered access of investigators, experts from the OSCE monitoring mission in Ukraine and other international organizations assisting in the probe,” the ministry said in a statement.
“However, in violation of this demand, the Kiev authorities publicly announced their intent to launch a new offensive in the area to gain control over the crash site,” the statement said.
“As a result, several attempts by international experts based in Donetsk to reach the crash site and start the investigation were frustrated,” the document said.
At the UN Security Council meeting, the Russian delegation attracted the attention to the evident fact of Kiev’s violations of the Security Council’s demands and called to issue a statement for the press urging immediate ceasefire at the crash site.
“Unfortunately, our initiative was shamelessly blocked by the US, UK and Lithuanian representatives. It is clear that this is another attempt to fence off the Kiev authorities hampering a truly independent and unbiased international investigation into the tragedy,” the ministry said.
Malaysia Airlines MH17 en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur crashed in eastern Ukraine on July 17. All 298 people on board, including 85 children and 15 crew members, died in the crash.
