Ukraine renewed on Monday its demand from Iran to receive full details about the downing of the passenger plane that the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) admitted to downing earlier this year.
Ukraine and Iran kicked off on Monday the second round of talks about the downing of the jet.
The IRGC shot down the Ukraine International Airlines flight with a ground-to-air missile on Jan. 8 just after the plane took off from Tehran, in what Tehran later acknowledged as a “disastrous mistake” by forces who were on high alert during a confrontation with the United States.
In a July report, Iran’s Civil Aviation Organization blamed a chain of mistakes - such as a misalignment of a radar system and lack of communication between the air defense operator and his commanders - for the plane crash that killed 176 aboard, including 57 Canadians.
For months, Tehran has refused requests from nations that had citizens aboard the downed plane to transfer the black boxes. In July, it finally sent them to France.
The scheduled three-day talks started on Monday between the Iranian delegation, headed by Deputy Foreign Minister for International and Legal Affairs Mohsen Baharvand, and the Ukrainian delegation, headed by Deputy Foreign Minister Yevgheniy Yenin, IRNA reported.
Baharvand renewed his country’s regret over the accident, stressing that it has nothing to hide from Ukraine.
“We are genuinely ready to inform the Ukrainian people and delegation of the details of the incident,” IRNA quoted him as saying.
Iranian media quoted Yenin as stressing that his country wants thorough and accurate details of what happened, noting that its acceptance of the fine depends on the information it receives in this regard.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said during a press conference on Monday that compensation being discussed will be dedicated to the families of the victims and the airlines.
The first round of negotiations was held in Kiev in July, with the Ukrainian authorities saying they were “cautiously optimistic” about the process.
The plane carried 167 passengers and nine crew members from different nations. There were 82 Iranians, 63 Canadians and 11 Ukrainians on board — the Ukrainian nationals included two passengers and the nine crew members, reports revealed. There were also 10 Swedish, four Afghan, three German and three British nationals.
