Russia's Putin says opposes MH17 tribunal ahead of U.N. vote

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

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday he opposed the creation of an international tribunal to prosecute those who shot down a Malaysian airliner over eastern Ukraine, hours before a U.N. vote on such a proposal.

Putin's comment was the latest to indicate Russia may block moves at the United Nations, co-sponsored by the Netherlands, to set up a U.N.-backed tribunal into the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 in July 2014.