Lavrov Says Unclear Why Kiev Not Releasing Air Traffic Recordings of Malaysia Airlines

MOSCOW, August 25 (RIA Novosti) - Russia has still not received a clear explanation of why Kiev has not presented the recordings between the air traffic controllers and the crew of the downed Malaysia Airlines passenger airplane, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Monday.

“There has been nothing clear in regard to the reasons of why the full presentation of recordings from the black boxes, or reasons of why the Ukrainian side with all of its airplanes that were flying along the same echelon over the region [have not been provided], and there’s nothing clear of the reasons for the inability to present this information,” Lavrov said during a briefing.

Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 crashed in eastern Ukraine on July 17 while en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur. All 298 people on board, including 283 passengers and 15 crew members, died in the crash.

The reason of the crash is a matter of debate, as Ukrainian authorities claim the independence supporters of the eastern regions shot down the plane, but the latter say they do not possess the means to hit a target flying that high. The investigation of the circumstances of the crash is hindered by the fights between the warring sides.

The United States and a number of European leaders supported Kiev’s claim, while the Russian Defense Ministry pointed out that a Ukrainian fighter jet was detected near the Malaysian aircraft shortly before it crashed.

Earlier in August, Malaysian Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai said that a preliminary report on the black box findings from the MH17 crash is expected to be handed over to the United Nations in September. 

- Source:  http://en.ria.ru

Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777-200, 9M-MRD