"ICAO norms violated in MH17 crash probe"

"ICAO norms violated in MH17 crash probe"

“Today, when the tragedy with the Malaysian Boeing is being slurred over and we are the only ones to urge to pay attention to the fact that the investigation is unduly dragged out, our Western partners keep silent or at best are saying that about one year more is needed,” the TASS agency reported Lavrov as saying.

“The way the investigation is organized is a separate topic. All norms of the International Civil Aviation Organization are being violated, Ukraine’s security services are directly involved in this investigation," he said.

"The country where the tragedy took place could be involved [in the probe], but it cannot run the show as it happens now," the minister said, adding that it was dishonest to use a tragedy to achieve one's geopolitical goals, Russia's Sputnik website reported.

The July 17 crash killed all 298 people on board.

Sputnik quoted Ukraine's Security Service as saying last week that the probe would continue throughout next year since it was "complicated and time-consuming". They also said that Dutch investigators were to release a progress report by the end of 2014.

The Dutch Safety Board (DSB) published a preliminary report in September saying the airliner was penetrated by "a large number of high-energy objects" causing it to break up in mid-air.

The website noted that "Ukrainian officials and the Pentagon were quick to blame Donetsk region militias" - an accusation the pro-Russian forces denied, saying they "lacked firepower to strike down a high-flying jet."