Russia withdraws from talks over downing of MH17 plane -RTE

Russia's foreign ministry said today it was withdrawing from talks with the Netherlands and Australia over the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 in 2014, accusing both countries of not wanting to establish what really happened.

MH17 was flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur when it was shot down by a missile fired from territory held by pro-Russian rebels during fighting in eastern Ukraine, international investigators say. All 298 people on board were killed.

After years of collecting evidence, a Dutch-led international Joint Investigation team (JIT) last year said the missile launcher used to hit the civilian plane came from a Russian army base just across the border.

The Russian foreign ministry said its decision to withdraw from consultations with the Netherlands and Australia came in response to a Dutch government suit filed against Moscow at the European Court of Human Rights in July this year.