Ukraine is ready to appeal to the UN International Court of Justice in the case of the Ukraine International Airlines Boeing 737-800 jet shot down over Tehran in January 2020 shortly after takeoff, but is hoping Iran will reconsider its refusal of multilateral resolution, Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Emine Dzhaparova said on Thursday
KIEV (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 10th February, 2022) Ukraine is ready to appeal to the UN International Court of Justice in the case of the Ukraine International Airlines Boeing 737-800 jet shot down over Tehran in January 2020 shortly after takeoff, but is hoping Iran will reconsider its refusal of multilateral resolution, Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Emine Dzhaparova said on Thursday.
"We, as well as other countries of the coordinating group, consider Iran's actions as a violation of obligations under the Chicago and Montreal Conventions. Basically, this determines the logic of our actions on the international-legal track. However, as I have already stressed, as of today, Iran considers the multilateral format of negotiations unacceptable. Consequently, further international legal steps are coordinated by the four countries within the schemes provided for by the both conventions. If necessary, we are ready to appeal to the UN International Court of Justice. However, we hope that Iran will change its stance to a more constructive one," Dzhaparova was quoted by Ukrinform news agency as saying.
According to the official, if Iran agrees to negotiate with the coordinating group, it will be possible to reach the necessary consensus.
On January 8, 2020, a Boeing 737 operated by Ukraine International Airlines crashed soon after departing from an airport in Tehran. Citizens of Iran, Canada, Ukraine, Afghanistan, Germany, Sweden, and the United Kingdom were among the 176 passengers and crew who died. Iran later said that its military had shot down the plane by accident, confusing it for a hostile cruise missile during an escalation with the US over Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani's assassination.
The Ontario Superior Court of Justice ruled in May 2021 that Iran had deliberately downed the Ukrainian airliner, deeming the incident an act of terrorism under the Criminal Code of Canada. Tehran criticized the decision as groundless and politically-motivated.
