Russia summons Dutch ambassador over MH17 probe

Russia has summoned the Dutch ambassador over the results of a criminal investigation that implicate Moscow in the downing of the Malaysia Airlines MH17 flight.

On Monday, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced that it has called in Dutch ambassador Renee Jones-Bos and explained to him why the probe’s results “could not be recognized as satisfactory by Russia.”

According to the Dutch Foreign Ministry, during the meeting Jones-Bos called on Russia to cooperate with the investigations.

In July 2014, all 298 people on board Flight MH17 were killed after it was blown in the sky over Ukraine during a flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur.

Last week, a criminal investigation team from Netherlands, Australia, Belgium, Malaysia and Ukraine announced that they had found “irrefutable evidence” that the BUK missile that hit the plane was launched from an area held by pro-Russia forces in eastern Ukraine.

“Based on the criminal investigation, we have concluded that flight MH17… was downed by a BUK missile of the series 9M38, that came from the territory of the Russian Federation,” said Wilbert Paulissen, the head of the Dutch national detective force.

Russia denied the accusations of its implication in the incident, which prompted Dutch Foreign Minister Bert Koenders to summon Russia’s ambassador to complain over the “unacceptable” manner of its reaction.

The self-proclaimed republics of Donetsk and Lugansk have witnessed deadly clashes between pro-Moscow forces and the Ukrainian army since Kiev launched military operations in mid-April 2014 to crush pro-Moscow protests there. The crisis has left more than 9,400 people dead and over 21,500 others injured.