Russia vetoes bid to set up tribunal for downed flight MH17

Dutch investigators and an Emergencies Ministry member work at the site where the downed Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 crashed, near the village of Hrabove (Grabovo) in Donetsk region, eastern Ukraine November 16, 2014. REUTERS/Maxim Zmeyev

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Russia vetoed a United Nations Security Council draft resolution on Wednesday that would have set up an international tribunal to prosecute those suspected of downing a Malaysia Airlines passenger airliner last year in eastern Ukraine.

Eleven countries on the 15-member council voted in favour of the proposal by Malaysia, Australia, the Netherlands, Belgium and Ukraine, while three countries abstained: China, Angola and Venezuela. A resolution needs nine votes in favour to pass and no veto by Russia, the United States, China, Britain or France.