Netherlands Ready to Continue Cooperation With Russia on MH17 Investigation

The Netherlands is ready to continue cooperation with Russia on investigating the causes of last year's MH17 crash in eastern Ukraine, the country’s ambassador in Moscow said.

Two separate inquiries into the MH17 tragedy are currently being conducted in the Netherlands. An investigation by the Dutch Safety Board, which Russia is taking part in, is aimed at establishing the cause of the crash.

"We were cooperating in the Dutch Safety Board and we [are] also cooperating in a criminal investigation and we are ready to continue it [cooperation]," Ron Van Dartel told RIA Novosti in English during an interview.

The Netherlands is being as open as possible in its handling of the inquiry into the 2014 crash of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 in eastern Ukraine, Ron van Dartel said.

• Several Dutch media reportedly said earlier they were going to take legal action against the Dutch Security and Justice Ministry to force it to publish documents on the deadly Boeing crash after authorities had classified the majority of the paperwork.

"We see a lot [of] discussions about transparency," van Dartel told RIA Novosti. "There is never a totally transparent criminal investigation until the case is brought before a judge… We will see what a judge in the Netherlands, based on our rules, will decide, but what about us we are as transparent as possible," he continued, adding that there "are limits to a criminal investigation."

• The diplomat advised Dutch media to "go to a judge to get more clarity than they are getting now."

Flight MH17 crashed while flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur over the eastern Ukrainian region of Donetsk on July 17, 2014. All 298 people on board, mostly Dutch citizens, perished in the accident.

The board claimed in its preliminary report that the plane broke up in-air from structural damage caused by a large number of high-energy objects.
 (Sputnik)
12/10/15
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