USA: Churkin slams "impartial" MH17 tribunal as Russia exercises veto power

Vitali Churkin, the Russian Permanent Ambassador to the UN, told the UN Security Council that Russia voted against the resolution calling for an international tribunal on the crash of the Malaysian Airlines MH17 because "the impartiality of the investigation could not be assured" in New York, Wednesday. Churkin asked the Security Council members whether the investigation could both resist “the aggressive propaganda backdrop in the media” and the "political pressure" which has already "named the causes of and those responsible for the disaster." The Russian ambassador disagreed with the idea that the downing of the plane represented a threat to "international peace and security," a phrase included in the resolution. Churkin said it is difficult to explain "how events that took place a year ago have suddenly become a threat to international peace and security, when previously it wasn’t considered so." Russia is committed to an ‘independent and objective investigation’ into the crash, according to Churkin, though the ambassador considers the practice outside the remit of the UN.