TEHRAN — President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky has said Iran had complied with most arrangements in the matter of clarifying the circumstances of the Ukrainian plane crash.

“Everything we talked about with the president of Iran was mainly done,” Ukrainian President said on Monday, according to Mehr.

He was pointing to the access for 45 Ukrainian specialists to work in Tehran, a prompt identification of the bodies of Ukrainian citizens and their return.

He made the remarks during a meeting in Kiev with Mohammad Eslami, the special representative of the Iranian president.

Heading a delegation, Eslami traveled to Kyiv on Monday to discuss the details of the Ukraine International Airlines plane crash that occurred on January 8 in Tehran.

Zelensky stressed the need for a further effective investigation into the crash.

The two sides also discussed the issue of the transfer of the Ukrainian aircraft’s flight data recorders to Ukraine for the purpose of their decryption.

Zelensky said Ukraine had the necessary technical means and experienced specialists to perform this work properly.

The parties agreed that all remnants of the aircraft preserved after the accident should be returned to Ukraine.

They also raised the issue of compensation to the relatives of those killed in the plane crash and the creation of a joint investigation team.

The parties expressed their condolences over the deaths of the citizens of Ukraine and Iran.

The Ukrainian passenger plane, with 176 people aboard, was mistakenly downed on January 8 near Tehran by the air defense system.

The victims of the crash included 82 Iranians, 63 Canadians, 11 Ukrainians, 10 Swedes, four Afghans, three Germans, and three British nationals.

The Iranian military announced on January 11 morning that the plane had been mistaken for a cruise missile.

On Friday, Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said, “The plane crash was a bitter incident.”

The Leader added, “To the same extent we grieved over the plane incident, the enemies cheered.” 

He also said, “There are ambiguities in the plane incident. We thank the commanders for explaining it to the people, but this issue must be pursued and reoccurrence of similar incidents must be prevented seriously.”

Ayatollah Khamenei also expressed sympathies with the bereaved families and thanked them for standing up to the enemy’s conspiracy and speaking out against the enemy’s desire.

MH/PA