Iran says other parties missed chance to resolve plane tragedy row

Iran has blamed Ukraine, Canada, the UK, and Sweden for the failure of recent talks in the Swiss city of Geneva aimed at resolving the row over the 2020 Ukrainian plane crash tragedy, saying they “lost the political opportunity” for a settlement.

In a statement released on Tuesday, Iran’s Foreign Ministry said that an Iranian delegation participated in the Geneva talks on October 2 based on the principle of “good faith” and “transparency”.

However, it added, the Iranian team was not able to provide a thorough report of its measures due to the negotiating partners’ insistence on their prejudice and accusations in the talks.

The Iranian government has published a final technical report after the completion of an investigation into the plane crash, according to the ministry.

It has also paid $150,000 in compensation to many families of the victims.

An Iranian court has sentenced 10 defendants to imprisonment and additional punishments for “imprudence and non-observance of rules,” it noted.

“The government of the Islamic Republic of Iran believes that it has in the shortest possible time undertaken all the tasks that it is required to do based on the rules and regulations of international law regarding air accidents,” the statement read.

“Unfortunately, the opposite side, under the provocation of a certain government, has ignored the aforesaid measures regardless of international regulations and procedures. Citing general and ambiguous matters, it has also sought to advance its political objectives, caused … a failure [in the talks] and lost the diplomatic opportunity [provided] in the Geneva meeting.”

Iran court hands down jail sentences to 10 military staff over 2020 Ukraine jet downing

An Iranian court has issued a verdict for 10 members of the Armed Forces who were involved in the 2020 accidental downing of a Ukrainian passenger plane in the skies over Tehran.

The ministry also expressed Iran’s preparedness to hold “result-oriented” negotiations, conditioning the continuation of the talks to a declaration of readiness by the other parties.

“While being ready to hold meaningful negotiations, Iran still stands against any sides who are using this tragic accident as an excuse to seek their own political interests and maintain pressure and hostility against the Iranian nation, and will not allow any foreign party to harm its national interests.”

On January 8, 2020, the Ukraine International Airlines flight PS752, en route to Kiev and transporting mostly Iranians, crashed minutes after takeoff near Tehran, killing all the 176 on board.

The plane was shot down by Iran’s air defenses, which mistook the aircraft for a military target amid tensions between Tehran and Washington following the US assassination of revered Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani in Iraq days earlier.

Iran acknowledged days later that the mismanagement of an air defense unit’s radar system by its operator was the key human error that led to the accident.

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