ROTTERDAM (Reuters) - The head of the team of Dutch prosecutors looking into the downing of Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 over Ukraine last year said on Tuesday he was "confident" of concluding his investigation successfully, but was not ready to bring charges.
"We are not yet far enough that we have formal suspects identified or are ready to arrest suspects," said prosecutor Fred Westerbeke. "If we continue at the pace we are at now, I am confident."
Prosecutors believe the airliner, which crashed in territory held by Moscow-backed rebels in eastern Ukraine last July, was likely shot down by a ground-to-air missile. The Dutch are taking a lead in the investigation, since two thirds of the airliner's 298 passengers were Dutch.