Russia's Lavrov says discussed MH17 by phone with Dutch counterpart

MOSCOW: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said he had spoken to his Dutch counterpart by phone about the downing of a Malaysian airliner over eastern Ukraine in 2014, the TASS news agency reported on Friday.

The Netherlands said earlier on Friday it held the Russian state responsible for the downing of the aircraft and a Dutch cabinet statement said a "possible" next step would be presenting the case to an international court.

Lavrov said his Dutch counterpart had been unable to provide evidence of Russia's involvement in the downing of the passenger plane, TASS reported.