Canada Urges Iran to Transfer Black Boxes from Downed Jet to France

Montreal (dpa) - Canada’s foreign minister said Wednesday he reiterated in a call with his Iranian counterpart Ottawa’s request for investigating the causes of the downing of a Ukrainian passenger jet.

Iran admitted responsibility for mistakenly shooting down the Boeing 737 operated by Ukraine International Airlines with 176 people on board on January 8.

Foreign Affairs Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne said he urged a "thorough, credible and transparent investigation".

Of the 176 people killed, 57 were Canadian citizens and 29 were permanent residents returning to Canada.

According to the readout of the call with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif released by Canadian officials, Champagne “stressed the need for Iran to arrange for the download and analysis of the flight’s black boxes data to be conducted without delay.”

In accordance with international rules, Iran, as the country where the accident took place, has the responsibility of conducting the investigation. However, Iran does not have the technical ability to download the data from the plane’s two black boxes.

Champagne urged Iranian authorities to “make use of the facilities offered by France with the technical capacity to do this work and urged a quick resolution,” the readout said.

Canada’s top diplomat, who chairs the International Coordination and Response Group for the victims of flight PS752, which includes Ukraine, Sweden, Afghanistan and Britain, whose nationals also perished in the crash, also raised the importance of a “swift compensation settlement for the families of the victims, based on international standards.”

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