Russia mulls resuming direct flights to Egypt

  17 March 2016    Read: 1194
Russia mulls resuming direct flights to Egypt
Russia`s top diplomat has announced Moscow`s intentions to resume flights to Egypt after 2015`s aviation tragedy. Metrojet, the downed aircraft`s operator, was banned from undertaking domestic and international flights.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov announced on Wednesday that Moscow was working with Egyptian authorities to resume "direct air links" to Egypt, in comments carried by Russia`s state-owned TASS news agency.

"We agreed to restore air links as soon as possible, provided the highest security standards are guaranteed for Russian citizens," Lavrov said after meeting with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry in the nation`s capital.

Moscow banned all direct flights to Egypt in November after a Russian passenger plane was downed over the Sinai Peninsula shortly after taking off from Sharm el-Sheikh, a well-known tourist destination on the Red Sea.

The "Islamic State"-affiliated militant group Sinai Province claimed responsibility for bringing down the Airbus A321 aircraft by smuggling a bomb onto the passenger plane. In a statement posted online, the militant group said the attack was made in retaliation for Russian airstrikes against "Islamic State" targets in Syria.

Russian investigators confirmed the plane was brought down by an explosive device, although Egyptian authorities said there was a lack of evidence to prove the militant group`s claims.

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