Five countries that lost their citizens on the Ukrainian plane brought down by Iran held their first meeting on Thursday, demanding that Tehran assume responsibility and start an international investigation and pay compensation to the families of the victims.

London hosted Thursday a meeting of the International Coordination Group on the Ukrainian plane, in the presence of the foreign ministers of Britain, Canada, Ukraine, Sweden, the Netherlands and Afghanistan.

Canadian Foreign Minister Francois Felipe Champaign after the meeting read a statement calling on the Iranian authorities to provide full and uninterrupted consular services to officials of the countries concerned.

The statement stressed the need for Iran to identify the victims' identities in line with the values ​​of dignity, transparency and international standards, and to respect all requests from the families of the victims, including the return of the bodies of the victims to their countries, and compensation.

He also stressed the need for Iran to allow "an independent, transparent, comprehensive investigation and full cooperation", and that the countries that lost their citizens in shooting down the plane be informed of all progress of the investigation.

The Canadian minister pointed out that Iran has accepted the responsibility to shoot down the plane, saying that the reason can not be determined accurately except through an international investigation.

Rescue teams could not rescue any of the passengers (Reuters)

Full cooperation
Champaign told reporters after the meeting that the five ministers are "united and speaking with one voice for the victims and their families," as Swedish Foreign Minister Ann Linde said, "We expect full cooperation from Iran."

In turn, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Vadim Priestiku said on Twitter that he discussed with his Iranian counterpart Muhammad Javad Zarif the recovery of the bodies of Ukrainian victims, and also Ukraine's role in the joint investigation, especially access to the black boxes.

He added, "We collect facts and evidence, and use all our networks, including our partners abroad, and work through our men on the ground in Iran, in order to put together a complete picture and achieve the result that we all seek, which is justice."

And the Iranian judiciary announced last Tuesday the arrest of individuals for their involvement in shooting down the plane, three days after the Iranian General Staff admitted that its air defense system brought down the plane due to a "human error". At the same time, the Revolutionary Guards claimed responsibility.

On January 8, a Ukrainian airliner crashed in Tehran a few minutes after take off, killing 176 people, including 82 Iranians, 57 Canadians, 11 Ukraine, 10 Swedes, 4 Afghans, 3 Germans and 3 Britons.