State Dept. doesn’t issue statement on anniversary of MH17 downing

Source: The Hill | July 18, 2018 | Emily Birnbaum

The State Department on Tuesday did not release a statement to mark the anniversary of the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 over Ukraine on July 17, 2014, the first time it has not done so since the incident occurred. 

According to a new report from Foreign Policy, the State Department circulated a draft statement that was critical of Russia over the incident, in which the flight’s 283 passengers and 15 crew members were killed after their plane was shot down by a Russian missile over Ukraine. But the draft statement was never released publicly.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo did sign a statement paying tribute to the incident and condemning Russia’s role in it as part of a joint statement with other foreign ministers belonging to the Group of 7 (G-7) nations. According to Foreign Policy, the Canadian and British governments quickly published that statement on the websites of their foreign ministries, but the State Department only did so after being contacted by the news organization on Wednesday. 

State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert on Wednesday insisted the State Department has not changed its position.

“The United States government has long said that Russia is without a doubt responsible for shooting down MH17,” Nauert said when pressed on the State Department’s silence. 

“I hope the decision that the United States made this time to go with the G7 statement doesn’t cloud anyone’s judgement about our steadfast conviction that Russia stands responsible for the shoot-down of the MH17,” she added. 

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