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Trial mechanism for MH17 justice to be determined within six months: Dutch FM

Xinhua, February 7, 2016 Adjust font size:

A decision will be reached within six month on how to prosecute those held responsible for the Malaysian airliner MH17 which crashed in east Ukraine in July 2014, Dutch Foreign Minister Bert Koenders on Saturday.

The most realistic option would be the organization of the trial at a national level in one of the countries involved in the investigation, the Dutch FM told reporters after the two-day informal meeting of the EU foreign ministers council in the Dutch capital. Five countries are involved in the investigations. They are Australia, Belgium, Malaysia, the Netherlands and Ukraine.

The second option is a tribunal with the participation of all countries in joint investigation teams, said Koenders.

"The decision hasn't been taken yet. This issue is being discussed and I hope that a decision will be reached within six months, which is a realistic time frame," he added.

"Everyone wants the process to go faster, but it is important to bear in mind that we are talking about the prosecution of individuals and this requires evidence." he noted.

Koenders added the Netherlands does not intend to return to the idea of a United Nations(UN)-backed tribunal to investigate the crash of the flight in Ukraine.

Last summer the Netherlands proposed a UN-style court with the backing of Western allies. Russia vetoed the proposition at the UN Security Council. "At the moment this option seems a dead end," said the Dutch foreign minister.

In July last year, the UN Security Council unanimously adopted an Australia-led resolution calling for an international investigation into the circumstances of the tragedy and full and unrestricted access of experts to the site.

Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur crashed in Ukraine's Donetsk region on July 17, 2014. All 298 people on board, including 193 Dutch nationals, died.

On Oct. 13, 2015, the Dutch Safety Board released a report on their investigation into the incident, saying the Boeing-777 flight was shot down by a Buk surface-to-air missile with a warhead launched from eastern Ukraine. Enditem