Zakharova Calls Dutch Claims On Having Eyewitness Of Missile Launch In MH17 Case 'Farce'

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 25th February, 2020) Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Monday that the Dutch prosecutor's recent claims of having an eyewitness who saw the launch of the Buk missile that allegedly brought down the Malaysian MH17 jetliner back in 2014, were "farce."

Earlier in the day, Fred Westerbeke, coordinator of the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) established to investigate the causes of the deadly MH17 crash, said in an interview with the US broadcaster CBS that he had an eyewitness of the missile launch.

"It's disgusting. They made a farce out of tragedy," Zakharova wrote on Facebook, commenting on Westerbeke's statement.

Flight MH17 crashed on July 17, 2014, in Donbas while en route to Kuala Lumpur from Amsterdam, leaving no survivors. Ukraine and the self-proclaimed republics in Donbas have blamed each other for the incident.

The crash is being investigated by the Dutch-led JIT, which operates without the participation of Moscow. The JIT claims that the aircraft was downed by a Buk missile originating from the Russian armed forces.

The Russian Foreign Ministry has refuted the accusation as groundless and called the investigation biased, while presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov has repeatedly stated that Russia rejects any allegations of involvement in the incident.