Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Yevhen Yenin and U.S. Special Envoy for Iran Robert Malley have discussed the current situation around a final technical report issued by Iran on the January 2020 downing of Ukraine International Airlines Flight PS752.
"I have emphasized the absolute bias and inconsistency of this document with the requirements of the Chicago Convention. It is not only about disrespect for the memory of the victims, but also the high risk of a repetition of similar incidents in the future in Iranian (and not only) airspace," Yenin wrote on Facebook.
"My American colleague has expressed full support for Ukraine on the need to establish justice and truth in the PS752 case. We have agreed on our further steps in this direction," the diplomat added.
Read alsoUkraine joins UK, Canada, Sweden statement on PS752 downing by IranDowning of UIA plane in Iran: Background
- On January 8, 2020, Kyiv-bound Boeing 737 passenger jet flight PS752, operated by Ukraine International Airlines, crashed in Iran shortly after takeoff from Tehran Airport. All 176 people on board, including 11 Ukrainian nationals – nine crew and two passengers – were killed. Among the victims were also citizens of Iran, Canada, Sweden, Afghanistan, Germany, and the United Kingdom.
- Three days later, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani admitted that the Ukrainian liner had been shot down as a result of an unintentional "human error," and promised to bring those responsible to justice.
- On October 19, 2020, Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Yevhen Yenin met with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in Tehran. After the meeting, Yenin said Iran was ready to provide equal compensations to the relatives of all victims of the UIA plane, regardless of their citizenship. However, on December 9, 2020, Yenin said Iran had withdrawn the offer to handle the compensations.
- On December 31, 2020, at the fifth attempt, Iran submitted to Ukraine a draft technical report on the plane downing. Ukraine had two months to provide comments and suggestions on the report.
- Later it became known about secret audio recordings that indicate that the Iranian authorities will never reveal the truth about the downing of the Ukrainian plane.
- According to Canada's CBC News, the Canadian government and security agencies are examining an audio recording in which a man – identified by sources as Iran's foreign affairs minister – discusses the possibility that the destruction of flight PS752 was an intentional act.
- In late February 2021, Ukraine handed more than 90 pages of comments on the draft technical report over to Iran and insisted that Iran include them in the final document.
- On March 17, 2021, Iran released a final report, which stated it was an error by an air defense operator for the accidental downing of Ukraine International Airlines Flight PS752. The plane was identified as a hostile target due to a mistake by the air defense operator.
- In turn, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said Iran's final report on PS752 had failed to take into account Ukraine's remarks and contained manipulative conclusions.
