Kiev, Jul 31 (IANS): Ukraine began negotiations with an Iranian delegation on compensation for the plane of Ukraine International Airlines (UIA), which was shot down near Tehran earlier this year, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Facebook.

"Today in Kiev, Iranian delegation started the negotiations on compensation for Iran's shooting down of the Ukrainian International Airlines PS752 flight. We have been striving for a long time to start the negotiation process, and I welcome the beginning of negotiations," said the diplomat on Thursday, Xinhua news agency reported.

Kuleba noted that the process would not be easy, but Ukraine will do everything to achieve maximum compensation for the relatives of the victims of the plane crash.

The Boeing-737, en route from Tehran to Kiev, was shot down by two rockets shortly after takeoff from Tehran's Imam Khomeini International Airport on Jan. 8. The tragedy resulted in the deaths of all 167 passengers and nine crew members on board, who were citizens of Ukraine, Iran, Canada, Sweden, Afghanistan, and the United Kingdom.

Later, Iran's armed forces confirmed that an "unintentional" launch of a military missile by the country was the cause of the incident.

The transcript of the black boxes from the plane confirmed the fact of illegal interference with the plane. Earlier this month, Kuleba said it was too early to blame human error for the downing of the airliner and that many questions remained unanswered.