The UN Aviation Council decided on Monday that Russia was responsible for the crash of a Malaysian plane over Ukraine in 2014, with the deaths of 298 passengers and crew, the Dutch government said.
In a statement, the International Civil Aviation Organization Council (ICAO) said it will consider the necessary form of reparation in the coming weeks.
Malaysian Airlines Flight MH17 departed from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur on July 17, 2014, and it was while fighting between pro-Russian separatists and Ukrainian forces.
In November 2022, Dutch judges condemned two Russians and a Ukrainian for murder because of a role in the attack. Moscow called the decision “scandalous” and said he will not extradite his citizens.
The Montreal -based Icao did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The case began in 2022 by Australia and the Netherlands.
“The decision is an important step in establishing the truth and achieving justice and responsibility to all victims of Flight MH17 and their families and loved ones,” the Netherlands Foreign Minister, Caspar Veldkamp, said in a statement.
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“This decision also sends a clear message to the international community: States cannot violate international law impunity.”
The Netherlands and Australia want the board of the ICAO to order Russia to go into reparation negotiations, he added.
Icao has no regulatory power, but has power of moral persuasion and establishes global aviation patterns adopted overwhelmingly by its 193 Member States.
