Iran and Ukraine to discuss compensation for passenger plane shoot-down that killed 176
- Iran admitted to unintentionally shooting down the airliner amid heightened tensions with US forces in neighbouring Iraq
- Passengers on board were from Ukraine, Iran, Canada, Afghanistan, Britain and Sweden
Iran said on Saturday that it would enter into talks with Ukraine next week over compensation for the accidental shoot-down of a passenger plane in January, resulting in 176 deaths.
Talks are to begin on Monday, when experts will first investigate the technical and legal details of the incident, Deputy Foreign Minister Mohsen Baharwand told the ISNA news agency.
The Ukrainian International Airlines (UIA) Boeing 737 was shot down by Iranian air forces soon after take-off on January 8, killing all 176 people on board.
Passengers were from Ukraine, Iran, Canada, Afghanistan, Britain and Sweden.
Iran had initially blamed the crash on a technical problem, but then admitted to unintentionally shooting down the airliner amid heightened tensions with US forces in neighbouring Iraq.
In its final report on the crash from mid-July, the Iranian aviation agency spoke of “human error,” saying a malfunctioning radar system caused communication problems with the responsible military unit.