Relatives of those who perished in the crash of flight MH17, which was shot down over Ukraine in 2014, emphasize that without Russia acknowledging its responsibility, a reliable peace agreement cannot be achieved.
This is stated in letters sent to U.S. President Donald Trump and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, copies of which have come into the possession of "European Truth."
In the two letters, the victims' relatives expressed their thoughts on a potential peace agreement regarding the war. They are convinced that it is challenging to secure reliable arrangements without Russia's acknowledgment of its responsibility for the MH17 tragedy.
The families have long demanded apologies from Russia and a public investigation into all those involved and the reasons behind the plane's downing. They now believe that their demands should be part of any potential peace settlement.
“Without this, there can be no reliable peace with Russia,” they emphasized.
Among those who received copies of the letters are Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte and the head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell.
On July 17, 2014, a Malaysia Airlines passenger plane operating flight MH17 from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur was shot down in Donbas. All 298 passengers and crew members lost their lives.
To investigate the aviation disaster, a Joint Investigation Team (JIT) was formed in less than a month, comprising representatives from the criminal investigation agencies of the Netherlands, Malaysia, Australia, Belgium, and Ukraine, who eventually initiated the investigation. Russia denies its involvement in the crime.
On November 17, 2022, the District Court of The Hague announced the verdict in the MH17 case. Russians Igor Girkin-Strelkov and Sergey Dubinsky, along with Ukrainian citizen Leonid Kharchenko, were found guilty. The court sentenced them to life imprisonment and approved full compensation payments to the victims' relatives—over 16 million euros.
During the reading of the verdict in the MH17 case, the District Court of The Hague also acknowledged that Russia had been controlling the self-proclaimed "DPR" at least since May 2014.