© Maxim Zmeyev / ReutersA screen shows the specifications of the "Orlan-10" unmanned aerial vehicle (L) and the "Buk" missile system during a news conference, dedicated to the crash of the Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 plane operating flight MH17, in Moscow, Russia, September 26, 2016
"Russia suggested working together from the start and relying on the facts only," Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said in a statement for the media on Wednesday, commenting on the findings in the criminal probe into the MH17 crash by a Dutch-led team of international investigators.
"Instead of [working together], international investigators suspended Moscow from comprehensive participation in the investigative process, allowing our efforts only a minor role. It sounds like a bad joke, but at the same time they made Ukraine a full member of the JIT [Joint Investigation Team], giving it the opportunity to forge evidence and turn the case to its advantage," Zakharova added.
The spokesperson also noted that the JIT bases its findings on evidence provided by Ukrainian power structures, which are"undoubtedly a party with a vested interest."
"To this day, the investigators continue to ignore the overwhelming evidence provided by the Russian side, despite the fact that Russia is the only side that submits accurate information and constantly discloses new data," Zakharova said.
"Russia is disappointed that the situation surrounding the investigation into the Boeing crash is not changing. The findings of the Dutch prosecutor's office confirm that the investigation is biased and politically motivated.
"To arbitrarily designate a guilty party and dream up the desired results has become the norm for our Western colleagues," the spokesperson said.
She also expressed hope that after the JIT examines the evidence submitted by Russia, including primary radar data, the situation will change and that the final findings will indicate the "real culprits of the tragedy."
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