MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 16th February, 2020) Canada's Foreign Affairs Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne, as well as the foreign ministers of other countries affected by the recent downing of a Ukrainian aircraft near Tehran, are calling on Iran to pay compensation to the families of the victims.
"We pressed Iran on the need for swift compensation to be provided to families of the victims in accordance with international standards," Champagne said at the Munich Security Conference on Saturday, as quoted by CBC, after a meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif.
The Canadian foreign minister added that the compensation should be equal for everyone and that it should be issued as soon as possible.
On January 8, a Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) Boeing 737 plane crashed near Tehran shortly after takeoff killing all 176 people on board. Iran said that it had unintentionally downed the aircraft having confused it with a hostile cruise missile amid fears of US retaliation for Iran's missile attacks on bases hosting US troops in Iraq. Tehran launched the missile attacks after the US assassination of top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani.
Iran has apologized to the plane crash victims' countries, including Canada, Sweden, Germany, and the United Kingdom. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called on Iran to bring those behind the downing of the plane to justice and to pay compensation to the relatives of the victims.
