Russia: Lavrov questions Washington's motives for pursuing MH17 tribunal

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov questioned the reasoning as to why Washington is supporting the creation of a tribunal regarding the MH17 downing that occurred over Ukraine last year, while speaking at a press conference with his Thai counterpart Tanasak Patimapragorn in Moscow, Thursday. Earlier on Thursday, US Ambassador to Russia John Tefft was quoted by Russian newspaper, Moskovsky Komsomolets, as saying that US officials knew what was behind the plane crash that killed all 298 people on board. Given the fact that "everything is known in Washington," Lavrov questioned the purpose of pursuing the tribunal. The foreign minister pointed to the fact that no tribunals have been created by the UN Security Council in the past relating to civil aircraft crashes, citing the 1988 disaster involving an Iranian passenger plane and the 2001 Siberia Airlines Flight 1812 incident. Speaking on the recent arrangement struck at the P5 + 1 talks on Tehran's nuclear programme, Lavrov praised the role of US negotiators in ensuring the deal was sealed. "The main, decisive, indisputable contribution to the achievement of an agreement was made by the negotiators from the United States. It is a fact. Without the US being focused on results, on searching for a mutually beneficial compromise the deal could not be done," he said.