Sweden: Iran to compensate Ukraine plane crash victims

Iran has agreed to compensate families’ of foreign victims of a Ukrainian passenger plane that was shot down by Iranian forces outside Tehran in January, Sweden’s foreign minister said on Thursday.

“We have signed an agreement of mutual understanding that we will w negotiate toger with Iran about amends, compensation to victims’ next of kin,” Foreign Minister Ann Linde told Swedish news ncy TT.

Iran had denied for days its involvement in plane crash but n anunced that its military had mistakenly and unintentionally shot down Ukrainian jetliner, a Boeing 737 operated by Ukrainian International Airlines. All 176 people on board were killed.

Diplomats from nations that had lost citizens in downing of plane have for months been pushing Iran for more cooperation on investigation and compensation issues.

Iranian admission followed U.S. and Canadian intelligence reports indicating that Iranian Revolutionary Guard forces had downed aircraft. Tehran blamed “human error” for shoot-down. jetliner went down Jan. 8 on outskirts of Tehran during takeoff, just hours after Iran launched a barr of missiles at U.S. forces in Iraq.

plane was en route to Ukrainian capital of Kyiv. victims included 57 Canadian citizens as well as 11 Ukrainians, 17 people from Sweden, four Afghans and four British citizens. Those from Sweden included both Swedish nationals and people with staying permits in Scandinavian country.

Asked wher Iran will really pay compensation, Linde replied,“ re is doubt about that.”

five countries that are acting toger against Iran on this issue are those with victims that were on board of doomed plane: Sweden, Canada, Ukraine, United Kingdom and Afghanistan, TT news ncy said.

“We expect that we will be able to have first concrete negotiation meeting in a very short time,” Linde was quoted as saying.

Her press secretary told Associated Press that International Coordination and Response Group “has w achieved its primary objective of agreeing on a memorandum of understanding to enter, jointly as a united group, into negotiations with Iran on full reparations for victims.”

Days after shoot-down, governments of five countries that lost citizens demanded that Tehran accept “full responsibility” and pay compensation to victims’ families — though y had little to offer besides moral pressure to get Iran to comply — in line with Iran's responsibilities under international agreements governing passenger rights.

After a meeting in London, foreign ministers from Canada, U.K., Afghanistan, Sweden and Ukraine urged Iran to allow a “thorough, independent and transparent international investigation,” as well as a criminal probe and “impartial” judicial proceedings against those found responsible for downing plane.