Dutch PM Rutte discusses MH17 plans

Prime Minister Mark Rutte met with the Council of Ministers at his residence Wednesday night to discuss the next steps in the Dutch response to the crash of Malaysia Airlines flight 17. The flight originated in Amsterdam and was struck by a missile while flying over east Ukraine on July 17. Of the 298 people killed in the incident, 194 had Dutch nationality. Topics “included the return of all the victims, clarity about the circumstance and the prosecution and punishment of the perpetrators,” read a news release from the government’s information service. Separately, several members of government reportedly lobbied the Prime Minister to send military or police units to the Ukraine to assist in securing the Flight 17 crash site. The Council of Ministers is comprised of the head of each Dutch ministry, but does not include state secretaries, the second-in-command at each department. “The meeting took place against the background of the national day of mourning” earlier Wednesday, the statement explained. The Council typically meets weekly on Fridays at the Binnenhof in The Hague, and not Catshuis, the Prime Minister’s official home.