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DUBAI (Reuters) – Iran’s cabinet on Wednesday allocated $ 150,000 for the families of each of the 176 victims of a Ukrainian plane downed in Iranian airspace in January, the official IRNA news agency reported.
Describing Iran’s handling of the situation as “unacceptable”, Ukraine said the amount of compensation should be negotiated and called for those responsible to be brought to justice.
According to the IRNA report, a statement from the Iranian government read: “The cabinet approved the provision of $ 150,000 or the equivalent in euros as soon as possible to the families and survivors of each of the victims of the Ukraine plane crash.”
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have said they accidentally shot down the Ukraine International Airlines plane shortly after takeoff, mistaking it for a missile when tensions with the United States were high.
Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry said compensation should be established through talks, taking into account international practice, after establishing the causes of the tragedy and bringing those responsible to justice.
“The Ukrainian side awaits from Iran a draft technical report on the circumstances of the downing of the plane,” said ministry spokesman Oleh Nikolenko, adding that Iran has not yet implemented previous agreements, without giving details.
“This situation is especially unacceptable, since we are talking about the fate of innocent people,” said Nikolenko.
Canadian Foreign Minister François-Philippe Champagne added in an emailed statement that “reparations negotiations” are the best avenue available “to hold Iran accountable for its actions.”
Canada has been home to many of the victims in the downed plane.
Iran’s Transport Minister Mohammad Eslami told state television that the final report on the accident had been sent to the countries that participated in the investigation.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said that in less than a month an indictment will be issued against “those whose negligence caused the accident,” the semi-official Fars news agency reported. Iranian officials have said the case was being handled by a military court.
In a preliminary report in July, the Civil Aviation Organization of Iran blamed a misaligned radar system and a lack of communication between the air defense operator and his commanders for the downing of the plane.
Under United Nations rules, Iran retains overall control of the aerial investigation, while the United States and Ukraine are accredited as the countries where the aircraft was built and operated respectively.
A spokesperson for the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) confirmed by email that it had received the preliminary report from Iran.
Kathy Fox, chair of the Canada Transportation Safety Board, said her agency will not have access to the report until it is finalized.
Habib Haghjoo, an Iranian-born Canadian who lost his daughter and granddaughter in the accident, said he did not trust the news from Tehran and stressed that his priority is the report.
“They want to conclude,” he said of Iran. “We want the truth.”
Additional reporting from Pavel Polityuk in Kyiv, Allison Lampert in Montreal and David Shepardson in Washington; Editing by Giles Elgood, Jonathan Oatis and Jan Harvey
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
Image: FILE PHOTO: General view of Ukraine International Airlines debris, flight PS752, Boeing 737-800 plane that crashed after taking off from Iran’s Imam Khomeini Airport, outside Tehran, Iran on January 8, 2020 seen in this screenshot obtained from a social media video via REUTERS
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