BFF-27 EU leaders to add to pressure on Russia over MH17

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EU-SUMMIT-RUSSIA-MH17-UKRAINE-MALAYSIA

EU leaders to add to pressure on Russia over MH17

BRUSSELS, June 20, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – EU leaders will heap fresh
international pressure on Russia on Thursday over the downing of Malaysia
Airlines flight MH17 by demanding Moscow cooperate with a Dutch probe that
led to charges against four men.

The Kremlin will also be served with a tough warning over its move to make
it easier for Ukrainians living in breakaway regions of their country’s east
to obtain a Russian passport.

International investigators on Wednesday charged three Russians and a
Ukrainian with murder over the 2014 catastrophe, in which 298 people were
killed, with the trial in the Netherlands set to start in March next year.

But neither Russia nor Ukraine extradites their nationals and the Kremlin
has denounced the “absolutely unfounded accusations” against the men, all of
whom have military and intelligence links.

EU government leaders at a summit in Brussels will welcome the criminal
charges over the downing of the plane, which was hit by a missile over part
of eastern Ukraine held by pro-Russian rebels while flying from Amsterdam to
Kuala Lumpur.

“The European Council reiterates its full support for all efforts to
establish truth, justice and accountability for the victims and their next of
kin,” the leaders will say, according to a draft of formal summit conclusions
seen by AFP.

“(The Council) calls on Russia to cooperate fully with the ongoing
investigation, and expresses its full confidence in the independence and
professionalism of the legal procedures that lie ahead.”

The call comes after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo insisted Moscow must
ensure those charged over the incident face justice.

The Dutch-led inquiry team on Wednesday said international arrest warrants
had been issued for Russian nationals Igor Girkin, Sergei Dubinsky and Oleg
Pulatov, and Ukrainian Leonid Kharchenko, all of whom are suspected of roles
in the separatist self-declared Donetsk People’s Republic.

Prosecutors say the four were to be held responsible for bringing the BUK
surface-to-air missile system that shot the plane down from Russia into
eastern Ukraine “even though they have not pushed the button themselves”.

Ties between the EU and Russia plunged into the deep freeze over the war in
eastern Ukraine — which rumbles on with a death toll of some 13,000 — and
the downing of the MH17.

The summit will also voice the “utmost concern” over Russian President
Vladimir Putin’s decision to fast-track Russian citizenship for Ukrainians
living in areas controlled by Kremlin-backed rebels and warn the EU may not
recognise their travel documents.

“The European Council will continue to monitor the situation in eastern
Ukraine and stands ready to consider further options, including non-
recognition of Russian passports issued in contradiction to the Minsk
agreements,” the summit conclusions say.

The leaders will also extend by six months sanctions imposed on Russia over
its annexation of Crimea from Ukraine — though diplomats said some member
states had pushed for a 12-month prolongation.

BSS/AFP/ARS/1754 hrs