Russia to urge West resume investigation of MH17 crash in eastern Ukraine

Russia’s delegation to a conference of the Inter-parliamentary Union (IPU) in Geneva will urge to resume the investigation of a Malaysian passenger plane crash in eastern Ukraine, Andrei Klimov, a member of the Russian delegation and deputy chairman of the international committee of the Federation Council upper parliament house, said in an interview published in the Thursday issue of the Izvestia daily.
“In conditions of the current situation, it is important to first find out who was responsible for not closing air space over the dangerous area in the Donetsk region and ordering the plane deviate of its original route instead,” he said. “It is high time we help our colleagues in Malaysia and make the West and Ukraine investigate the situation over the Boeing crash in deed.”
“If they say someone seized a Buk missile system, why then this sector was not closed for flights. Why this plane was guided directly to this sector. The Malaysians do not understand this, they are smart people, but they say the West is turning a deaf ear on them,” Klimov said.
Boeing 777 crash in Ukraine
The Boeing 777-200 of the Malaysia Airlines (MH17) en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur crashed on July 17 in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk Region, some 60 kilometres (over 37 miles) from the Russian border, in the zone of combat operations between the Donetsk self-defense forces and the Ukrainian army. All the passengers and crewmembers onboard the aircraft - 298 people - died. According to the air company, passengers of the ill-fated aircraft were citizens of Malaysia, the Netherlands, Australia, Indonesia, Great Britain, Germany, Belgium, the Philippines, Canada and New Zealand.
Klimov said he was sure that the Inter-parliamentary Union is the most appropriate format to discuss this issue, since it would bring together some 2,000 lawmakers from 200 world countries.
The Inter-parliamentary Union
An international organization of parliaments, the Inter-parliamentary Union is the oldest international organization founded as far back as 1889. The Union is the focal point for world-wide parliamentary dialogue and works for peace and co-operation among peoples and for the firm establishment of representative democracy. It members are inter-parliamentary groups from 146 states. Seven regional inter-parliamentary organizations enjoy the status of associate members. The former Soviet Union took part in IPU work from 1955. Russian lawmakers have been taking part in IPU sessions since 1992.