There is a ‘cast iron’ guarantee from Ukraine that the people who shot down Malaysian Airways flight MH17 will not go unpunished, prime minister Mark Rutte has told MPs.

On Thursday MPs from various parties said they were concerned the amnesty for ‘fighters’ set down in the eastern Ukraine peace agreement would let those who brought down the aircraft off the hook.

However, Rutte said he had sent a text message to Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko saying he wanted reassurance.

‘I am 99.9% certain, let us say 100% certain,’ Rutte is quoted as saying by the Volkskrant. Poroshenko, said Rutte, is the man who has to sign the amnesty law and ‘therefore I trust him on this’.

The Dutch government earlier pledged to ensure that those guilty of shooting down the plane, with the loss of 298 lives, would be brought to justice.