TORONTO (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 05th February, 2020) Iran must immediately release the black boxes from the Ukraine jet crash to ensure full transparency, Canada and four other countries affected by the incident said in a statement.
"Iran must release the black boxes immediately as a demonstration of continued willingness to have a full and transparent account of this event," the group said on Tuesday.
The statement was sent by the governments of Canada, Ukraine, Afghanistan, Sweden, and the United Kingdom, which recently formed a group to coordinate responses to the crash. The countries have expressed concern about Iran's reluctance to download flight recorder data abroad.
On Monday, Iran's aviation chief accused Kiev of violating investigation procedures after media published a transcript of air traffic recordings taken before the crash. Ukraine says the recordings confirm Tehran immediately knew the passenger jet was downed by a missile.
Earlier, Iran said it would continue cooperation despite the incident.
Iran's aviation agency has authority to download the data at a location of its choosing because it is heading the probe, according to international guidelines.
Canada said there are problems decoding data because the black boxes are damaged and may require US parts. However, the United States maintains a strict sanctions regime against Iran, which may complicate the delivery of the parts to the Islamic Republic.
