Tripartite deal reached to remove MH17 debris

Donetsk, Nov 15 (IANS/TASS) The Netherlands, the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic have reached a deal to remove the wreckage of the downed Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 from the crash site.

"According to our information, a meeting was held Friday evening, when a protocol between the OSCE, the Netherlands and Donetsk republican ministries was signed to deliver fragments of the crashed jet from the self-proclaimed republic," the emergencies ministry of the republic stated Saturday.

According to a source, delivery of the crashed fragments of the ill-fated Boeing aircraft might begin Sunday.

Meanwhile, the Dutch government said Friday that Dutch specialists began picking up fragments of the crashed jet.

The Malaysia Airline jet en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur crashed in war-torn eastern Ukraine's Donetsk region July 17, killing all 298 passengers and crew on board. As many as 193 of those dead were Dutch citizens.

Western governments have held that Russia had played a significant role in the downing of the aircraft.

--IANS/TASS

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