Alternative solution needed for investigating loss of MH17
Russia’s Security Council veto means other means may be used to find those responsible
The wreckage of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 near the village of Hrabove in the Donetsk region of Ukraine. Photograph: Maxim Shemetov/Reuters
Australia, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Belgium and Ukraine have pledged to seek an alternative means of bringing to justice those who shot down Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, after a Russian veto at the UN Security Council last week put paid to an international tribunal.
If the aim of Wednesday’s draft resolution was to underline for the world that Russian president Vladimir Putin is immune to embarrassment, then perhaps it did its job, with 11 of the council’s 15 members voting in favour, three (including China) abstaining and only Russia unashamedly against.