Russian MP Slutsky calls Iran's admission of responsibility for Ukrainian Boeing crash 'courageous'
MOSCOW. Jan 12 (Interfax) - By admitting responsibility for shooting down the Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) flight on January 8, Tehran proved wrong accusations of pursuing a destructive and deceitful policy, Chairman of the Russian State Duma's Foreign Affairs Committee Leonid Slutsky told reporters.
"Despite all the rage surrounding Iran, the leadership of the country took the only right step. I am sure that Tehran will continue to do everything possible to sort out the aftermath of this terrible tragedy and will find a necessary solution with Kyiv," Slutsky said.
Washington "has been portraying Tehran as a deceitful and destructive regime" throughout recent years, he said.
"By its deed, Iran is utterly defeating such biased assessments and is proving that it is one of the leaders in the region," the Russian parliamentarian said.
"The initial cause of all that is the aggressive policy of the U.S.," he said.
When addressing "Ukrainian politicians who are trying to find a Russian trail in the Boeing 737 catastrophe," Slutsky said that "this is absolute nonsense. Mr. Turchynov and other, you should be ashamed of yourselves," he said.
"The admission by Iran of the unintentional human error that led to the crash of the Ukrainian Boeing is a courageous deed. Despite the tragic nature of those events and the possibility of political speculation, Tehran decided not to play any games or try to maneuver, but honestly and openly admitted its responsibility and expressed its deep regret over the catastrophe," he said.