Putin blocks plan to prosecute those guilty of shooting down Malaysia Airlines

On July 21, 2014, the Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution that demanded that those responsible “be held to account and that all states cooperate fully with efforts to establish accountability”. Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin told the council after the vote that such a tribunal risked not being impartial and being subject to media “propaganda”, and he called past tribunals for the Rwanda genocide and the violence in the former Yugoslavia “expensive”.

Russian Federation on Wednesday vetoed a United Nations Security Council resolution that would set up an worldwide criminal court to prosecute those responsible for shooting down a Malaysia Airlines plane over Ukraine a year ago.

“This, in our view, indicates the fact that political purposes were more important for them than practical objectives”.

The veto was also widely criticised by Australian foreign minister, Julie Bishop who said it was “an affront to the memory of the 298 victims of MH17 and their families and friends”. “It is the effect of Russia’s veto today”, she said.

He said: “I think it is infuriating and completely wrong”.

“We will be bitterly disappointed if Russian Federation were to use the veto”.

Moscow wants instead to wait for the completion of an ongoing Dutch-led global investigation into who the perpetrators are.

“Well, Washington is able to block the [Dutch] report, but it’s not able to completely falsify it. So it has now turned to the UN”.

Dutch investigators looking into the MH17 tragedy said that the plane was shot down while flying over the conflict zone near Donetsk.

More than 6,500 people have been killed in more than 15 months of fighting in east Ukraine between the rebels and forces loyal to Kiev.

The rebels deny these accusations, and Moscow has repeatedly warning against putting blame on anyone before the investigation into the crash has been completed.

An air accident investigation into the causes of the crash is set to report in October, while a separate criminal investigation is expected to drag on at least to the end of this year. The countries are among the five nations investigating the incident, along with Malaysia and Belgium.

The draft was supported by several nations in the UNSC, including the Netherlands and Ukraine.