UIA plane crash: Ukraine expects to get compensation from Iran within 5 years

"We have truth on our side, we have the strength of arguments and norms of international law on our side. Sooner or later, justice will be restored, and I am definitely sure that all perpetrators will be brought to justice, and the Iranian side will pay appropriate compensation to the relatives of the victims, the airline and the state of Ukraine," Deputy Foreign Minister of Ukraine Yevhenii Yenin said on the air of Ukraine 24 TV channel, Ukrinform reports.

When asked when the Foreign Ministry expects to get compensation, Yenin said: "It is extremely difficult to make forecasts, taking into account, in particular, internal political situation in Iran… We can refer to the current practice. The average term of pre-trial negotiations lasts from 2 to 5 years. If we talk about litigation prospect, it’s from 5 to 10 years. We very much hope to settle this issue in a pre-judicial procedure. All the efforts of Ukrainian diplomacy and coalition partners are focused on the effective conduct of negotiations with the Iranian side."

As reported, on January 8, 2020, Ukraine International Airlines plane (Flight PS752) heading from Tehran to Kyiv crashed shortly after taking off from the Imam Khomeini International Airport. There were 176 people on board – nine crew members (all Ukrainians) and 167 passengers (citizens of Ukraine, Iran, Canada, Sweden, Afghanistan, Germany, and the UK).

On January 11, Iran admitted that its military had accidentally shot down the Ukrainian passenger jet. Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) accepted full responsibility for the downing of the Ukrainian airliner.

On January 5, 2021, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said that Ukraine had received from Iran a draft technical report on the circumstances of the crash of flight PS752, and should prepare its comments by the end of February.

On February 16, Kuleba said that Ukraine expected to receive from Canada an audio recording, in which a man identified as Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif discusses the possibility that the destruction of Flight PS752 was an intentional act.

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