Despite previous promises to pay compensation for downing Ukraine International Airlines flight PS752 in January, Iran now refuses to even discuss the matter, according to Ukraine’s deputy foreign minister, Yevhen Yenin.
In an interview with BBC Ukraine, Yenin said that the Iranian side rejected the offer sent from his ministry to discuss compensation plans — a charge the Iranian Embassy in Ukraine resolutely denies.
Iran’s alleged refusal comes less than a day after the country delayed sending the plane’s black boxes to France for analysis, asking the international community to wait until July 20.
The compensation in question would not only be for the families of Ukrainian citizens killed in the downing, most of whom were flight crew on the aircraft, but also for those of 82 Iranian nationals and all other passengers on board, most of whom were of Iranian origin.
Yenin stated that the amount Iran must pay will be determined based upon comprehensive calculations. “We are working on it and sincerely hope that the Iranian side, in light of the influence of different factors, will agree to start negotiations,” he said.
However, in a statement to the Kyiv Post, the Iranian Embassy in Ukraine denied it ever rejected or ignored the Ukrainian government’s offers.
“The Iranian party in no way left unanswered the notes of the Ukrainian side, and these responses were provided in official notes or during official meetings of the Iranian leadership with the Ambassador of Ukraine to the Islamic Republic of Iran,” the embassy said in a statement.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran has always stated its readiness to negotiate with the Ukrainian party in accordance with current international law on the issue, and full, exhaustive texts have been submitted to Ukraine in recent months, but so far this has remained unanswered. The Islamic Republic of Iran is neither hiding anything nor looking for reasons not to cooperate with Ukraine.”
The embassy said that, on July 8, Iran’s Foreign Ministry had informed the Ukrainian Embassy in Iran that the government was ready to start bilateral talks from July 20 and was waiting for Ukraine to propose a date.
But Yenin says that’s not true.
“Unfortunately, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs does not have an official note from either the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Iran or the (Iranian) Embassy in Ukraine,” he said in a statement to the Kyiv Post.
“We also offered specific dates for the talks, but did not receive a response. We believe that Iran should return to official communication with Ukraine and offer dates for talks not through the press, but through diplomatic channels.”
“We view such statements as calling into question the sincerity of Iran’s intentions to hold constructive talks,” Yenin added.
Ukraine International Airlines flight PS752 took off from Imam Khomeini International Airport in Tehran on January 8th, traveling to Kyiv. The plane had 176 passengers and crew on board, most of whom were Iranians traveling through Ukraine as a transit point. Shortly after takeoff, the plane was shot down by an SA-15 air defense system and crashed. There were no survivors.
Initially, the Iranian authorities denied that they were at fault. However, after coming under greater scrutiny from the press and the international community, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard admitted to downing the plane by mistake when the air defense system’s operator mistook the aircraft for a U.S. cruise missile.
Shortly thereafter, Iranian authorities detained several people whom they blamed for the downing. “It is not only one person who pulled the trigger, but there are others who are also responsible,” Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said.
