Russia’s Putin voices opposition to International Tribunal for MH17

Russian U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin, center, raises his hand to cast a vote to veto a draft resolution in the Security Council that would create a tribunal to prosecute those found responsible for the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 over eastern Ukraine, Wednesday, July 29, 2015 at U.N. headquarters. (Source: AP)

Russian President Vladimir Putin has indicated that Moscow will veto a UN Security Council resolution to set up an international criminal court to prosecute those responsible for shooting down a Malaysia Airlines plane over Ukraine a year ago.

Putin said Wednesday in a phone chat with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte that Russia still opposes the idea that the Netherlands and Ukraine advocate.

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Ukraine and the West suspect that the plane was hit by a surface-to-air missile fired by Russia-backed separatist rebels or Russian soldiers. Russia denies that. Nearly 200 of the 298 killed were Dutch.

The Kremlin quoted Putin as saying a tribunal would be “inexpedient” because Russia still has “a lot of questions” about the investigation to which it had little access.