MH17 investigators ratify deal to prosecute suspects in Netherlands

The countries participating in the criminal investigation into the MH17 disaster, confirmed their support and cooperation to that investigation and the prosecution of those responsible on paper. The Foreign Affairs Ministers of the five countries in the Joint investigation team - Netherlands, Australia, Belgium, Malaysia and Ukraine - signed the agreements they made on this front on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York on Wednesday.

One of those agreements is that the perpetrators will be prosecuted in the Netherlands, under Dutch law. According to Minister Bert Koenders of Foreign Affairs, the signatures show that the countries are determined to bring those responsible for the disaster to justice, Het Parool reports.

"We chose in July for prosecution under Dutch law, but with sustainable international cooperation and support", Koenders said, according to the newspaper. "Because in finding the truth and satisfaction, it is not only about the Dutch victims, but about all victims from 17 countries and five continents."

Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 was shot down over eastern Ukraine on July 17th, 2014. All 298 people on board were killed, including 196 Dutch. So far the investigations by the Joint Investigation Team and the Dutch Safety Board determined that the plane was shot down by a Russian BUK missile system that was fired from a field in Ukraine that was controlled by pro-Russian separatists.