UPDATES WITH MORE REMARKS BY PESKOV
By Burc Eruygur
ISTANBUL (AA) - The Kremlin on Thursday claimed that Western countries are refusing to take part in the investigation into the Russian military plane crash in the country’s Belgorod region last week for "fear of exposing themselves."
“None of them will be interested in conducting an investigation and stumbling upon themselves in this investigation. The position of the collective West, which is a direct participant in this armed conflict, is also obvious,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters in a press briefing in Moscow.
Peskov reiterated Russian President Vladimir Putin’s comments a day earlier on his country’s readiness to take part in an international investigation into the incident, saying that European countries are expressing they will not consider anything “without paper.”
On Wednesday, Putin declared that the plane was “downed” by an American Patriot system.
Expressing that Russia insists on holding an international investigation into the crash, Putin said Ukraine could have shot it down "by mistake."
On Jan. 24, Russia’s Defense Ministry accused Ukraine of shooting down a plane carrying 65 captured Ukrainian servicemen for a prisoner exchange.
The crew and all passengers on the plane were killed, it said, calling it "a terrorist attack" mounted to accuse Russia of killing Ukrainian servicemen.
Ukraine's Defense Intelligence claimed that the incident could be a “planned and deliberate” action by Moscow to “destabilize” the situation. Later it confirmed the list of captives published by Russia.
The Kremlin is aware of the problems faced by Russian companies and individuals in Turkish banks, and is in contact with Ankara in search of a solution, Peskov said.
"The source of these problems is known, they are caused by completely unprecedented, undisguised, and aggressive pressure exerted, first of all, by representatives of the US on Türkiye, Turkish companies, including financial ones," he said.
About the EU decision to allocate another €50 billion to Ukraine, Peskov said Washington is shifting the burden of the financial support to Ukraine to the shoulders of the European taxpayers.
As for Armenia's membership to the International Criminal Court, that became effective on Feb.1, Peskov said it was Yerevan's "sovereign decision," and for Russia, it is important that such decisions do not adversely affect bilateral ties.