CANBERRA, Oct. 14 (Xinhua) -- Australia will not be bullied by Russia, or any other country, as it seeks justice after the downing of flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine, Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said on Wednesday.
A Dutch safety board report found earlier on Wednesday that the Malaysia Airlines flight, carrying 298 people including 38 Australian citizens and residents, was shot down with a Russian- made Buk missile in July 2014.
Bishop said Russia had sought to "discredit" the air-safety investigation report which confirmed that the doomed flight was brought down by the surface-to-air missile.
Speaking to Australian TV on Wednesday, Bishop said a criminal investigation into the "atrocity" would continue no matter how much pressure was put on Australia by other countries.
"We certainly won't be bullied by anyone in our pursuit of justice for the families of those aboard," she told the Seven Network on Wednesday.
The Dutch Safety Board report outlined the cause of the MH17 crash as it traveled from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, but did not seek to apportion blame for the disaster.
The report stated a Buk missile, most likely manufactured in Russia, had detonated just a few meters to the left of the aircraft's cockpit, killing the pilots instantly but leaving many passengers alive for more than a minute.
Australia's Prime Minister (PM) Malcolm Turnbull and Bishop both welcomed the findings of the investigation.
Bishop, who also spoke to the Australian Broadcast Corporation (ABC) on Wednesday, said Australia, along with its international partners, would press forward with its ambition to bring the perpetrators to justice.
"The report does not attribute responsibility for the downing of the plane," Bishop said.
"That is a question for the criminal investigation currently being conducted by authorities of the Joint Investigation Team."
The Russian government has rejected the report as politically- motivated, with Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov describing the findings as "biased".
But Bishop said Australia was undeterred and determined to seek justice for the victims. "Russia's protestations are not surprising. However, we will not be deterred in our effort to gain justice."
Bishop maintained it would still be possible to hold to account those responsible for the incident despite Russia using its veto- power to prevent a UN Security Council tribunal from being formed.
"While this confirms the cause of the crash and rules out any other theory, it certainly is part of the journey to hold those responsible for the downing of the plane to account - and that's what the criminal investigation will seek to do," she said.
"We hope that there will be a finalization of the (criminal) investigation by the end of the year."
The report also recommended the airspace above war-zones be avoided by commercial planes in future, a suggestion the foreign minister thought had considerable merit.
"(It) showed there were a number of planes flying above Ukraine at that time," Bishop said.
"But, obviously, there are important lessons to be learned from the incident and we will be considering carefully the recommendations in the report."
Russia has called for continued investigation into the crash of MH17, insisting that a number of questions still reamin unanswered regarding the incident.
