DUSHANBE, July 31, 2014, Asia-Plus – A meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) member nations took place in Dushanbe on July 31 and the SCO foreign ministers called for an open unbiased and independent probe into the MH-17 crash.  

Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 (MH17/MAS17) was a scheduled international passenger flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur that was shot down on July 17, 2014, killing all 283 passengers and 15 crew on board.  The Boeing 777-200ER airliner lost contact near Hrabove  in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine, about 50 kilometers from the Ukraine–Russia border and crashed near Torez, 40 kilometers from the border.  The crash occurred in the conflict zone of the ongoing War in Donbass, in an area controlled by the Donbass People''s Militia.

A release on the results of the SCO foreign ministers’ meeting notes that the delegation heads expressed deep condolences to the family members and dear ones of the people killed in the passenger airliner crash over Ukrainian territory on July 17.  They reportedly stressed the need for an open, unbiased, independent investigation and comprehensive cooperation within the efforts to establish the causes of the tragedy, as it is provided for by UN Security Council Resolution No 2166.