MH17: Four charged with shooting down plane over Ukraine (original) (raw)

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called upon Russia to "ensure that any indicted individuals currently in Russia face justice".

But Russia's foreign ministry said in a statement that it rejected the findings of the JIT , externalwhich were "aimed at discrediting the Russian Federation in the eyes of the international community".

Unnamed Dutch officials have told news agencies that Russia refused to co-operate with the investigation but the foreign ministry denied this, saying Russia had always been interested in establishing the truth.

Russia accused the JIT of using dubious "sources of information", including evidence "fabricated" by Ukraine, while ignoring evidence offered by Russia.

In July 2015, it vetoed a UN Security Council resolution that sought to set up a special tribunal to prosecute those responsible.

Under Article 61 of Russia's constitution, external, no Russian citizen can be extradited to another state.

A former rebel official in Donetsk, Andrei Purgin, said it was "absurd" to accuse the separatists of involvement in downing the plane, Russia's Interfax news agency reports.

Asked by AFP news agency, Ukrainian security services said they had "no information" on Leonid Kharchenko's whereabouts or whether he was even still alive.