Russian ambassador: Accusations 'groundless'

Russian Ambassador to Malaysia Lyudmila G. Vorobyeva said on Tuesday that accusations of Russia's involvement in the MH17 incident were groundless.

She said a Ukraine combat aircraft flying on the same route of MH17 was detected by the Russian armed forces, which proved that "what is said about Russia and Russia's role in this awful tragedy is groundless in a very big extent".

"Russia has been calling for a fair, thorough and full investigation led by ICAO since the beginning," she said.

ICAO is the United Nation's International Civil Aviation Organization. Under the organization's rules, the country where the incident happened, in this case Ukraine, should lead the investigation.

"We've been calling for an investigation lead by ICAO. The reason for that is that the rebels, as we understand, do not trust the government of Kiev," said Vorobyeva.

The ambassador said that Russia had been calling for a fair, transparent and full investigation by the international experts from the beginning.

She said it was also not fair to squarely blame the separatist forces on shooting down MH17.

"If you ask me, I am convinced that there is no way they could have done it. They don't have the means to do it," she said.

"I am not a military expert, but that BUK missile system is very sophisticated that you need special training to operate it," she said, adding that "the rebels did not have the book or qualifications to operate it, but the Ukrainian military has."

Protesters marched on the Russian embassy in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday, demanding justice for victims of the Malaysia Airlines flight.

Xinhua - Reuters - AP

(China Daily 07/23/2014 page12)