Head of Iran's Civil Aviation Organization voiced Iran's full preparedness to negotiate with Ukrainian officials as the next round of talks between the two countries' aviation officials will be held in October in the capital city of Tehran.
In an exclusive interview with IRNA, Touraj Dehqani Zangeneh elaborated on the latest situation of talks between Iran and Ukraine with the aim of paying compensation for the incident of the Ukrainian passenger plane which was shot down in late January 2020, the IRNA news agency wrote.
"Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Mr. Baharvand, heading a delegation comprising representatives of different sectors, has held different meetings with the Ukrainian officials," Dehqani Zanqeneh said.
He recalled that the talks on the issues pertaining to the crash of the Ukrainian passenger plane, including the issue of paying compensation have been reviewed and the next meeting will be held in Tehran in October.
"What is evident is that Iran has accepted the responsibility for its mistake and therefore the country is ready for negotiations on paying full compensation for what is had done," Dehqani Zangeneh added.
He pointed out that paying preliminary compensation in technical and legal areas will bear the result and it will take place on the basis of agreement.
Asked about the time for paying compensation to the beneficiaries Tehran-Kyiv flight plane crash, Dehqani Zangeneh said that the compensation would be paid with the boundaries of international laws and without discrimination while it will include any group that has been affected in the incident.
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 were killed, including 11 Ukrainian nationals – nine crew and two passengers. 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 PS752 victims.
- On August 10, Iran said they did not plan to compensate UIA for the downing of the Boeing 737 passenger jet.
