MH17 crash: Ukraine had warned Netherlands of danger

The Hague, Jan 9: Ukraine had informed the Netherlands about the dangerous situation in its airspace before the Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 crashed in July last year, but the government had not passed the information to airlines, the Dutch government has said.

Three days before the crash, a Ukrainian military cargo plane was shot down from great height in the east of the country and then a Ukrainian government spokesperson explained the situation in a briefing to "diplomats from a wide group of friendly nations", the Dutch government said in a letter to parliament Thursday.

The Dutch embassy in Kiev reported about the meeting through "usual interdepartmental channels," Xinhua news agency reported citing the government.

"Ukraine especially urged a firm position of the international community against Russian interference in the conflict. That was the main message of this briefing," said the letter, adding that the downing of a Ukrainian military plane was called an example of the increasing escalation of the crisis.

However, the information about the security situation of the Ukrainian airspace did not lead to the conclusion that additional measures had to be taken, such as informing the airlines, the government said.

In the letter, the government did not explain why the information was not shared with the airlines.

Flight MH17 flight crashed July 17, 2014, over Ukraine airspace, killing 298 passengers and crew on board, of whom 196 were Dutch citizens.

IANS