Putin on MH17 downing: Evidence presented against Russia is ‘no proof at all’

Russian President Vladimir Putin has dismissed allegations by international investigators who have accused three Russians, one Ukrainian of using a surface-to-air missile, brought from Russia, to shoot down Malaysian Airlines flight MH17.

Asked whether he thought it was time for Russia to acknowledge responsibility for the shooting down of the plane, with the loss of almost 300 lives, Putin said there was nothing to acknowledge.

“Russia never avoids the responsibility that is actually hers to bear. What we were presented as proof of Russia’s guilt absolutely doesn’t satisfy us. We believe it is no proof at all,” he said.

“We have a version of our own, which we presented. But unfortunately, nobody wants to listen to us. As long as we don’t have real dialogue, we won’t find the right answers to the questions about this tragedy and the deaths of people. We certainly mourn them and we believe such acts are intolerable.”

The Dutch-led Joint Investigation Team (JIT) on Wednesday accused four people, who were part of the rebel militia in eastern Ukraine in 2014, of playing significant roles in the downing of the airliner. The JIT said the Buk missile launcher used had come from Russia and said that the Russian military may have been involved.

Russia believes that the missile was Ukrainian and that the JIT investigation was biased and had been directed to accuse Russia, regardless of evidence to the contrary.