By ,
Published August 06, 2015
Russia Wednesday vetoed the Western-backed U.N. Security Council resolution that would have established a tribunal to prosecute those responsible for downing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 over Ukraine last year.
The foreign ministers of Netherlands, Australia, and Ukraine have been attending a meeting over the shooting down of the plane on July 17, 2014, killing all 298 people aboard on a flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur.
New Zealand's foreign minister, Murray McCully , who is serving as president of the Security Council this month, called for a minute of silence ahead of the vote to remember the victims of the tragedy.
Ukraine and the West suspect the plane was hit by a surface-to-air missile fired by Russian soldiers or Russia-backed separatist rebels, which Russia has denied.
Wednesday's vote followed a last-minute effort to lobby Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has said setting up a tribunal would not make sense while the investigation continued.
Before the vote, Malaysia's transport minister Liow Tiong Lai said the Security Council needs to create the tribunal for the sake of justice for the victims.
"Regardless of who the perpetrator is, we want to ensure that there will not be impunity," he said.
Fox News’ Jonathan Wachtel and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
https://www.foxnews.com/world/russia-vetoes-security-council-proposal-on-mh17-tribunal