The Hague: The Dutch mission in Ukraine has recovered new human remains of victims of the MH17 crash in eastern Ukraine, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said in press conference here Friday.
The remains were brought to the city of Kharkiv for a preliminary forensic check, after which they will be transferred to the Netherlands for further identification, Xinhua reported.
The findings were made after a mission in cooperation with the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and the State Emergency Service of Ukraine (SES).
Last week, the Dutch government was criticized in Dutch media for refusing to negotiate with separatists in Ukraine to gain quicker access to the crash site.
However, Rutte said Ukraine "does not want us to talk to the separatists".
"In my perception, there was no delay due to the fact that we have not worked through the separatists," he added.
Flight MH17 of Malaysia Airlines crashed on July 17, killing all 298 people on board, including 196 Dutch citizens.
Another five victims of the disaster were identified, the Ministry of Security and Justice on Friday, making a total of 289 identified victims.
The Netherlands is working closely together with Malaysia and Australia to repatriate remains and possessions and to investigate the crash. Next week, Rutte will visit both countries to discuss the latest developments.
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