On Special Briefing by the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation on the crash of the Malaysian Boeing 777 in the Ukrainian air space, July 21, 2014
As a reaction to the tragedy of July 17, 2014 over Donetsk, when the Malaysia Airlines Boeing-777 crashed, and to the conflicting pseudodocumentary and often openly fabricated materials, which have unfortunately been circulating for the past few days in the media, we would like to draw your attention to the attached special briefing by the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation of July 21, 2014. It is based on the factual data of the objective airspace control system provided by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation (full version can be found on the MoD website mil.ru).
It is our hope that the presented authentic technical evidence, which has been immediately shared by the Russian side with the experts of leading European countries and Malaysia, will facilitate the full-fledged, deep and transparent multilateral investigation of the accident under the aegis of ICAO. Russia is determined to further contribute to the prompt ascertainment of the truth about this air disaster. It is our firm belief that only through joint and responsible efforts of the international community, free from ungrounded bias or labeling, a real chance can be given to the group of experts working at the crash site near Donetsk to complete its operative tasks in secure conditions.
What happened on July 17 is another mournful proof that it is imperative to move the conflict in Eastern Ukraine from its current military phase to the stage of political and diplomatic settlement. Russia will continue to do everything within its power to achieve this goal, calling on all foreign partners to consistently press too for initiating inclusive intra-Ukrainian negotiations.
