Earlier in July, Australia, Belgium, Malaysia, the Netherlands and Ukraine put forward a joint proposal to set up an independent tribunal to prosecute those responsible for the plane crash. On Tuesday, Malaysia submitted a draft resolution to the UN Security Council.
"We should be aware that this kind of a resolution is an effort to create some kind of a ‘daily resolution’ against the Russian Federation," Willy Wimmer said.
Russia has been repeatedly blamed for backing anti-government militias in Ukraine, who Ukrainian authorities accuse of downing the Malaysian aircraft with a Russia-supplied Buk missile. Last year, several Western powers imposed sweeping economic sanctions on Moscow over its alleged role in the Ukrainian armed conflict.
"There are ongoing efforts by the 'usual suspects' to organize by all means an international and global alliance to strangle that country by all means, to establish a global attitude of hostility against Moscow and to go even further," he said.
"The resolution, proposed by Malaysia and others is a shame, because they utilize the hundreds of victims for political purpose and must be seen in a broader context," Wimmer said.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Thursday that the UN Security Council has never before classified civilian aviation disasters as a threat to international security. He stressed that the international body has nothing to do with the investigation.
One year ago, a Malaysian airliner en route to Kuala Lumpur from Amsterdam crashed in southeastern Ukraine. All 298 people on board died. According to a preliminary report by the Dutch Safety Board, the Boeing 777 fell apart in midair after being hit by numerous high-energy objects.
The Western-backed government in Kiev and independence supporters in Ukraine’s southeast have been trading the blame for the crash.
