Before proceeding to discuss the downing of Malaysian Airlines flight MH17, the President of the Council asked all present to rise and observe a moment of silence. Mr. Feltman first briefed the council on the deteriorating situation in Eastern Ukraine before turning to the incident. He stated that the Secretary-General was alarmed that surfaced-air missiles were used in the incident, and “strongly condemn[s] the deliberate downing” of the civilian aircraft. He stated that the International Civilian Aviation Organization offered Ukrainian officials investigative capacity to facilitate an impartial and full inquiry to the incident. He concluded by hoping that the shock of the incident would lead to a “serious and sustained” effort to end the fighting in Ukraine.

In addition to the 15 members of the Council, representatives of countries with casualties or involvement in the incident also spoke in the occasion to express condolences and urge for unvarnished investigation. The American Ambassador detailed evidences that prevent her from ruling out Russian assistance was offered in downing the plane, stating that the complexity of operating the SA-11 surface-air system is beyond the separatists. She concluded her statement by saying that “Russia can end this war” and “Russia must end this war”. The Ukrainian Ambassador further listed Russian involvement in inciting the instability in Eastern Ukraine, stating that military recruiting offices were set up in Russian cities to send Russian nationals to fight in Ukraine. On the other hand, the Russian Ambassador stated that he “place[s] all blame on Kiev powers and government”, and asked “why did the Ukrainian dispatcher send a passenger flight through an area of military clashes”. The Chinese and Nigerian Ambassadors stated that now is not “a time for blame game”, with the latter stating that the incident would not have happened without the situation in Ukraine.

Meeting Title –7219th meeting of the UN Security Council
Speakers –Representative of Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Chad, China, Chile, France, Indonesia, Jordan, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malaysia, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, The Philippines, Republic of Korea and Rwanda, Russian Federation, the United Kingdom, the United States, Ukraine and Vietnam to the United Nations; Mr. Jeffrey Feltman, Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs
Location – Security Council Chamber, United Nations Headquarters
Date – July 18^th, 2014
Summary Written By – Harrison Chung
Edited by Apurv Gupta