Russia blocks UN tribunal on MH17

Russia has officially announced that it will be voting against an UN tribunal to prosecute those responsible for the MH17 disaster. In a statement on the country's Ministry of Foreign Affairs website, Russia calls the creation of a tribunal "untimely and counterproductive". Russia published the statement on Tuesday after meetings with ambassadors of the Netherlands, Australia, Belgium, Malaysia and the Ukraine, in which the ambassadors tried to convince Russia to vote for a tribunal. These attempts have failed. Russia has veto power in the United Nations Security Council, and as the country has now made it clear that it will vote no, there will definitely be no tribunal. In the statement Russia calls it "regrettable" that Russian scientists have been allowed little access to the international investigation into the cause of the disaster. According to Russia, this violates the UN Resolution 2166, which supports a full and independent investigation into the incidents and demands that those responsible be held to account. On Tuesday sources close to the Dutch Safety Board, who is leading the investigation into the disaster, told CNN that the Safety Board's draft report concludes that pro-Russian separatists are responsible for the downing of the Malaysian Airlines plane.