BRUSSELS – The European Union leadership on July 17 commemorated the fourth anniversary of the downing of Malaysian Airlines Flight MH17, which killed 298 people in 2014. The plane flying from Amsterdam to Kuala-Lumpur was downed by a Russian BUK rocket over the war-torn eastern Ukraine.
“For those who lost their loved ones, this day is a constant source of grief and we convey our deepest sympathy and respect to all of them,” the High Representative of the EU, Vice-President of the European Commission Federica Mogherini said in a statement on behalf of the EU on July 17.
Mogherini reminded that the EU fully supports the United Nations Security Council Resolution 2166, which demands that those responsible for the downing of flight MH17 be held responsible and that all the member states cooperate fully with efforts to establish accountability.
Mogherini also reminded that the Joint Investigation Team on May 24 concluded that the BUK installation used to shoot down flight MH17 belonged to the armed forces of Russia. Russia has been deniying its involvement in shooting down MH17.
“Against this background, we will continue to call on the Russian Federation to accept its responsibility and to fully cooperate with all efforts to establish accountability,” Mogherini said.
