PM: Blaming Russia for MH17 is politically motivated

PUTRAJAYA: Blaming Russia for the shooting down of flight MH17 has always been the “script” of an international political plot to attack the country, says Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

Expressing scepticism over the objectivity of the investigation into the tragedy, the Prime Minister said there had not been any solid evidence that Russia was behind it.

“We (Malaysia) are very unhappy. From the very beginning, it was a political issue on how to accuse Russia of the wrongdoing.

“Even before they (investigators) examined the case, they have already claimed it (the shooting down of MH17) was done by Russia. And now, they say they have proof.

“It is very difficult for us to accept that,” Dr Mahathir told reporters at the Prime Minister’s Department’s Hari Raya event here.

On July 17, 2014, the Malaysia Airlines flight en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur was shot down as it was flying over pro-Russian separatists territory in Ukraine, killing all 298 people on board.

Dr Mahathir said the findings of the investigations were not convincing enough to pin the blame on Russia.

“As far as we are concerned, we want proof of guilt (that Russia did it). But so far, there is no proof, only hearsay.

“This is a ridiculous thing. Someone shoots a gun and you are not able to see who, but yet you know who shot it,” he remarked.

To a question, Dr Mahathir denied that Malaysia’s stance was due to its palm oil business with Russia. He also said Malaysia was not in a position to place demands on Russia, should the country refuse to comply with the findings of the investigation