Australia and the Netherlands are now suing Russia over Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 which was shot down by a missile back in 2014 in eastern Ukraine by Russian-backed separatists.
The two governments believe that Russia is responsible for causing the tragedy and had breached international aviation laws.
“The cabinet will continue to do everything it can to hold Russia accountable for the downing of flight MH17 and the maintenance of the international legal order,”
“The death of 198 civilians, including 196 Dutch, cannot and must not remain without consequences,” Dutch Foreign Minister, Wopke Hoekstra, told Bloomberg.
Based on a report by Axios, Australian Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, also criticised the Russian authorities for not owning up to their role in bringing down the plane.
“The Russian Federation’s refusal to take responsibility for its role in the downing of flight MH17 is unacceptable and the Australian Government has always said that it will not exclude any legal options in our pursuit of justice,”
“While we cannot take away the grief of those whose loved ones died as a result of Russia’s actions, the Australian Government will pursue every available avenue to ensure Russia is held to account so that this horrific act never happens again,” he shared.
There were 38 Australians on flight MH17.
Australia and the Netherlands have since filed legal cases with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) while the Netherlands is also suing Russia at the European Court of Human Rights.
Stay tuned for more updates.
Also read: World’s Largest Aircraft, the Ukrainian Antonov AN-225, is Destroyed by Russian Invaders
