Russian, Australian Foreign Ministers Discuss MH17 Probe, Fight Against COVID-19

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov had a phone conversation with his Australian counterpart, Marise Payne, about the fight against COVID-19 and the investigation of the crash of the Malaysian Boeing flight MH17, and he confirmed the readiness of Russian experts for consultations to clarify issues regarding the probe, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 20th May, 2020) Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov had a phone conversation with his Australian counterpart, Marise Payne, about the fight against COVID-19 and the investigation of the crash of the Malaysian Boeing flight MH17, and he confirmed the readiness of Russian experts for consultations to clarify issues regarding the probe, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday.

The conversation took place at the initiative of the Australian side, and it was Payne who raised the issue of MH17 crash probe.

"Lavrov noted that Russia was distributing in the United Nations a detailed document with facts showing serious flaws in the work of the Joint Investigation Team [JIT] created by the Netherlands, the activities of which do not meet the high requirements contained in UN Security Council resolution 2166. The willingness of Russian experts to consult with Australian and Dutch colleagues to clarify specific answers to numerous questions posed in the course of cooperation with the JIT was confirmed," the ministry emphasized.

The foreign ministers also noted their interest in developing political dialogue at the level of the leadership of foreign ministries, in further increasing bilateral trade and ensuring its more balanced nature.

Lavrov and his Australian counterpart also discussed ways to intensify interaction within the framework of the East Asia Summit and ASEAN defense ministers meetings with dialogue partners (ADMM-Plus).

The ministers' conversation focused on developing pragmatic cooperation in areas of mutual interest, as well as international cooperation in combating the spread of the coronavirus infection in light of the outcome of the 73rd World Health Assembly.