Russia says findings of investigation into MH17 crash are unfounded

MOSCOW, June 19 (Reuters) – Russia’s Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday it regretted the results of the investigation into the crash of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 and considered murder charges against Russian suspects unfounded.

Three Russians and a Ukrainian face murder charges over the 2014 shooting down of the MH17 plane over eastern Ukraine that killed 298 people. The trial is scheduled to begin next March in the Netherlands, an investigative team said on Wednesday.

“Once again, completely baseless accusations are being made against the Russian side, aimed at discrediting the Russian Federation in the eyes of the international community,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said on its website. (Reporting by Christian Lowe, Text by Andrey Kuzmin)