Iranian cabinet members agreed at a session on Wednesday to allocate US$150,000 or its equivalent in euros to each family of the victims of the Ukrainian plane crash in January 2020.
The Iranian government will pay the money to the families of the plane crash victims without considering their race and nationalities in compliance with international norms, as reported by the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA).
Read alsoPS752 downing: Ukraine takes tough stance in talks with Iran – FM KulebaAs the tragic incident occurred on January 8, Vice-President for Legal Affairs Laya Joneidi suggested the government should pay the allocated money before the start of its first anniversary.
Although money cannot relieve pain from the incident, it is somehow a commitment to respect people's rights, she added.
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, the 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 October 23, Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Yevhen Yenin said Iran would pay compensation to the relatives of victims of the UIA flight PS752 crash, but the process might last up to two years.
- On December 9, however, Yenin said that Iran had withdrawn the offer to handle the payments to the families of those killed in the UIA plane crash.
- In the middle of December, Canada expressed its position on the Iranian investigation into the downing of the Ukrainian plane, saying it is not credible.
- On December 22, the Iranian news agency Tasnim reported that Iranian investigators, during a video conference, had provided representatives of other countries whose citizens were victims of the crash with a technical report on the UIA downing.
- On December 23, Yenin said that Ukraine had not received the report.
- On December 24, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba expressed concern that Iran was delaying the negotiation process on the case of the downed Ukraine International Airlines plane. He noted that Ukraine had not received a technical report from Iran on the plane downed almost a year ago.
- At the same time, Iran insists it has handed the report over to Ukraine.
