KIEV, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- A special representative of the Iranian government will visit the Ukrainian capital next week, the Interfax-Ukraine news agency reported on Friday.
"A special representative of the Iranian government will visit Ukraine with official apologies and explanations, I think, at the beginning of next week. We will have an opportunity to meet with him," Ukrainian Foreign Minister Vadym Prystaiko was quoted as saying in parliament.
Prystaiko also said that a joint group of experts from Ukraine, Canada and Iran will gain access to the flight recorders of a crashed Ukrainian airliner, and the black boxes will be transferred from Iran to Ukraine later.
"This is in line with international standards, although we still demand to give them to us right away to ensure independence and objectivity of the investigation," said the Ukrainian minister.
A total of 167 passengers and 9 crew members were killed on Jan. 8 as a result of the crash of the Ukrainian airliner, which was flying from Tehran to Kiev. The airplane crashed at approximately 6 a.m. Tehran Time (0230 GMT) shortly after takeoff.
Iran's state TV, citing the Iranian military, said on Saturday that it "unintentionally" shot down the Ukrainian jetliner because of human error.
