Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Yevhen Yenin has said Iran will pay compensation to the relatives of victims of the Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) flight PS752 crash, but the process may last up to two years.
According to the official, it may take at least up to five years in international courts, as reported by the TSN TV news service.
Read alsoSeveral relatives of PS752 victims file lawsuit against Iran in U.S.Yenin added the negotiations with Iran, from which the Ukrainian delegation returned on Thursday, were difficult. The diplomats managed to agree on compensation from Iran. However, the size of compensation was not discussed. A new round of negotiations will take place in Kyiv in late November.
"The Iranian side has agreed to provide equal compensation to the relatives of victims, regardless of their citizenship. We expect to have more details during the next round," Yenin said.
PS752 downing 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 victims are also citizens of Iran, Canada, Sweden, Afghanistan, Germany, and the UK.
- 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 June 9, media reports said Iran had accused six persons in the PS752 downing case.
- On July 20, flight recorders were delivered to Paris and decrypted on July 21.
- On July 24, it was reported that data from the black boxes had confirmed external interference with the aircraft's operation.
- On July 29-30, Kyiv hosted the first round of negotiations with Iran regarding compensation to relatives of the PS752 victims.
- On July 31, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba briefed on three major achievements of the negotiations with the Iranian delegation on compensations. In particular, Iran joined in the negotiation process to establish all the circumstances of the disaster, to bring all those responsible to justice and handle all necessary payments. Iran also agreed to fulfill all its obligations under international conventions in the field of aviation. At the same time, there is no answer yet to the question of the size of the compensation.
- The second round of negotiation with Iran took place in Tehran on October 19-20.
