KYIV. April 15 (Interfax) - The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry is continuing efforts to obtain the flight recorders from the Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) aircraft downed by Iran in January, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said.
Kuleba thus commented on media reports that Iran has forwarded a draft memorandum of mutual understanding to Ukraine, inviting Kyiv and the families of the crash victims to recognize human error, rather than the actions of the Iranian military, as the cause of the crash.
"Media reports on Iran's memorandum should be viewed as [...] media reports. The negotiations are ongoing. We are working to obtain the black boxes. Ensuring justice, paying compensation to the families, and holding those responsible to account in line with international law are key for us," Kuleba said on Twitter on Wednesday.
A UIA Boeing 737-800 crashed in the vicinity of Tehran's Imam Khomeini International Airport soon after takeoff on January 8. None of the 167 passengers and nine crewmembers survived the crash.
Iranian authorities acknowledged on January 11 that the Boeing was downed by the Iranian military by mistake.