Germany must provide secret data about Boeing crash - Rosaviatsia
MOSCOW. Oct 20 (Interfax) - Alexander Neradko, chief of the federal air transport agency Rosaviatsia, said that media reports, citing the German intelligence service and claiming that the Malaysian Boeing was shot down by the militia with a Buk missile system, hijacked from a Ukrainian military base, are mere speculation and that the entire responsibility for the air disaster rests with Kyiv.
"What one should do now is, instead of speculating on fresh conjecture, ask Germany and its intelligence service to provide the secret data on this or that side's alleged role in the air crash for public scrutiny," Neradko said in an interview with Rossiya 1 television.
"The air disaster occurred in Ukraine. Ukraine bears full responsibility for what is happening in its air space. The rest seems as mere conjecture to me," he said.
"One can follow any theory, discuss and shape them, and toss them to the press. But the most important thing is missing - objectivity, the wish to travel to the scene to examine the wreckage and elements of the plane, and to find these much-talked-about damaging elements. All of these things are missing. But claims of this kind are made from time to time under the guise of investigative reporting. We have always favored unbiased investigations and we are ready to assist them," he said.
He said also that it was hard to comment on the data provided by the German intelligence service, as everyone is discussing what was reported by Spiegel.
"We have been urging since the start of the investigation that instead of discussing rumors one should produce real facts - the bare truth - which could be used to assess the circumstances of the air incident and then to make conclusions about its causes," he said.
"No such facts provided by the German intelligence service have been known to me, or anyone else. We requested from the start that all facts and objective circumstances - all of these materials and information - be passed to the Dutch investigative commission," he continued.
"The Russian side did exactly that and handed all facts known to it to the investigative commission. We demonstrated our adherence to the principle of transparent, comprehensive, open and unbiased investigation. Therefore, we do not understand the German intelligence service's conclusions," he added.
"Moreover, we would like them to answer our questions about the number of surface-to-air guided missiles launchers and their location in Ukraine, and about how many guided missiles were used. But these questions have received no answers, although they would help the investigative commission to examine everything from different anglers and to consider various theories. We have always been insisting on using facts as the guideline," he said.
"We would also like our German colleagues to remain mindful of their responsibility for such publications. That was not the only investigative report. We have known many others. Various theories have been considered at different times, including that the plane could have been hit by a surface-to-air system from the ground, or by a fighter jet, that an explosion could have occurred aboard the plane, and other theories, as well. We requested, however, that each of them be studied on the basis of bare facts," he said.
