COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) – The countries whose civilians were killed when Iran accidentally shot down a Ukrainian jet said Friday they want Iran to “do justice and ensure Iran fully compensates the families of the victims and affected countries.”
In a joint statement to mark the one-year anniversary of the Ukraine International Airlines flight 752 crash, Ukraine, Canada, Great Britain, Afghanistan and Sweden said they want Tehran to “provide a full and thorough explanation of the events and decisions. which led to this terrible plane crash. “
Sweden had previously said that Iran had agreed to compensate the families of the foreign victims.
The shooting by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps took place on the same night that Iran launched a ballistic missile attack on US soldiers in Iraq, in response to the US drone attack that killed Guard General Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad on Jan. 3.
The plane was on its way to the Ukrainian capital Kiev. The victims included 57 Canadian citizens and 11 Ukrainians, 17 people from Sweden, four Afghans and four British citizens. Among those from Sweden were both Swedish citizens and those with a residence permit in the Scandinavian country.
Initially, Iran had denied its involvement in the plane crash, but then it announced that its army had accidentally and unintentionally shot down the Ukrainian jet.
The statement has been signed by ministers from Afghanistan, Canada, Sweden, Ukraine and the United Kingdom.
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This story was corrected to remove the reference to France, which had no civilians on board the downed plane.