MOSCOW. Feb 8 (Interfax) - Russia is ready to discuss the downing of Flight MH17 with the Netherlands, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko said.
"Our dialogue has not been interrupted, particularly at the political level. We are touching on these issues. We are ready for discussion, based above all on the understanding that it will cover subjects such as Ukraine's failure to present primary data to the investigative team probing this case in the Netherlands," Grushko said in reply to a question from Interfax.
"Ukraine's liability should also be discussed, since the country failed to close its airspace. All other aspects concerning the failure of the Dutch side to take into account the information that we gave them in The Hague as part of our cooperation [should be discussed, too]," he said.
Western media have reported that the Netherlands hopes to start formal talks with Russia on the responsibility for the downing of Flight MH17 in eastern Ukraine.
According to Dutch Foreign Minister Stef Blok, the atmosphere of diplomatic contacts with Russia on launching talks is positive.
A Boeing 777 flying from Amsterdam (the Netherlands) to Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) was downed in Ukraine's Donetsk region on July 17, 2014. All 298 people on board were killed.