Russian President Vladimir Putin said the rocket that shot down Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine in 2014 was "of course" not Russian, dismissing the Dutch and Australian decision to blame Moscow for the tragedy.
Asked at an economic forum in Saint Petersburg on Friday if the rocket was Russian, Putin said: "Of course not". The Russian leader added that there is "nothing that inspires confidence" in the international investigation.
"There are different versions of this tragedy, but no one takes them into account," Putin told the Saint Petersburg International Economic Forum. The Netherlands and Australia on Friday took the first step towards dragging Russia to court over the shooting down of the flight, accusing Moscow of being responsible for the disaster.
The move won swift support from international allies, a day after investigators concluded that the Russian-made BUK missile which tore apart the Boeing 777 passenger plane in mid-air on July 17, 2014 came from a Russian military brigade based in the south-western city of Kursk.
"There is but one conclusion to be made from yesterday's presentation, namely that Russia is thoroughly responsible for the deployment of this BUK system," Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte told reporters.
All 298 people on the flight en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur were killed when the missile slammed into the plane as it flew over territory held by pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine. The disaster sparked Western sanctions on Russia for its support of the separatists.
-AFP, Saint Petersburg
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