Malaysia deflects blame away from Russia for MH17 disaster

Russia should not be considered guilty of shooting down Boeing aircraft Flight MH17 that crashed over Ukraine in 2014, Malaysia's Minister for Transport Anthony Loke told ChannelNews Asia.

"There is no convincing evidence to blame Russia on the basis of the data provided by the Joint Investigative Group (JIT). You can not simply take a finger and point it at Russia," he said, noting that all subsequent actions will be carried out only on the basis of body of evidence, taking into account diplomatic relations between the two countries.

On May 24, a special press conference of the JIT was held, at which it was said that a convoy of military vehicles left the base of the 53rd brigade near the city of Kursk. There were at least six Buk systems in the convoy, JIT experts said. One of those systems, marked as No. 332, was then sent to the territory of Ukraine. it was the system that subsequently shot down the passenger Boeing, the experts concluded.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Moscow will not recognize the results of the investigation until Russian experts receive full access to all materials of the case.

In 2015, Malaysia invited the UN Security Council to establish an international tribunal to identify those responsible for the Donbass air crash. Most of the member countries supported it, but Russia blocked the adoption of the document having used the right of veto.