NATO calls on Russia to accept responsibility for MH17 crash

This is said in the statement issued on Friday by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, a Brussels-based Ukrinform correspondent reports.

"The Netherlands and Australia have announced that they hold Russia responsible for its part in the downing of flight MH17 on 17 July 2014. I call on Russia to accept responsibility and fully cooperate with all efforts to establish accountability, in line with United Nations Security Council Resolution 2166," Stoltenberg said.

 “The downing of MH17 was a global tragedy, and those responsible must be held accountable. NATO has repeatedly expressed its full support for the efforts undertaken by the Dutch authorities and others to shed light on what happened on that terrible day, and to achieve justice for the 298 people who were killed and their loved ones,” reads the statement.

As reported, the Boeing-777 passenger airplane owned by Malaysia Airlines, en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, was shot down by Russian-backed militants in Donbas in July 2014. There were 283 passengers and 15 crewmembers on board the plane, and all of them died.

May 24, the Joint Investigative Team reported that MH17 flight had been shot down over the occupied territory of Donbas on July 17, 2014 by the Buk anti-aircraft missile system originated from the 53rd Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade stationed in Kursk, the Russian Federation.

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