At UN Security Council Lithuania urges not to politicise investigation into MH17 crash

“The Resolution of the United Nations Security Council on the investigation into the Malaysian Airlines plane MH17 catastrophe obliges that the independent investigation into this catastrophe should be carried out, the persons responsible for it should be identified and brought to justice. It is necessary to ensure that this Resolution should be implemented; this is our duty to the families of the victims,” stated Ambassador Raimonda Murmokaitė at the meeting.

The Lithuanian ambassador expressed support for the independent international investigation into the crash of Malaysian Airlines plane MH17 and noted that all the parties who directly suffered, trusted the international investigation carried out under the supervision of the Netherlands and its conclusions therefore Russia‘s suspicions about the credibility of the investigation seemed groundless.

The Lithuanian Permanent Representative drew attention to the fact that the flow of weapons, heavy weaponry and fighters across Russia’s border, as well as the undeclared war against Ukraine, were fundamental reasons that caused this catastrophe. She expressed concern about the actions of the Russian backed separatists which restricted access to the site of the catastrophe thus impeding its further investigation.

During the meeting Ambassador Raimonda Murmokaitė also expressed concern about the constantly worsening situation of the Tatars in the Crimea and repeated that Lithuania supported Ukraine’s sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity.

Dutch Foreign Minister Frans Timmermans when speaking at the meeting, underlined the independence of the investigation into the catastrophe carried out by the Dutch Safety Board and informed that its final report was planned to be submitted in the summer of 2005. The Foreign Minister of Australia Julie Bishop urged Russia to make use of its influence and to withdraw the armed groups from the site of the catastrophe and thus create the possibilities for experts to continue working on the site of the catastrophe.

All the members of the United Nations Security Council emphasised the necessity to ensure the responsibility for the Malaysian Airlines plane MH17 crash.