Russian President Vladimir Putin, third left, observes a minute of silence with Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) head Alexander Bortnikov, third right, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, second right, and others before a meeting on Russian plane crash in Egypt, at Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, early Tuesday, Nov. 17, 2015. (Alexei Nikolsky/SPUTNIK, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi has told Russian President Vladimir Putin that Egypt understands the Russian people’s pain, a day after Moscow said an onboard bomb caused last month’s plane crash in Sinai.
Egypt’s presidential spokesman Alaa Yousef confirmed the two leaders spoke by phone Wednesday in a statement that made no mention of a bombing. Egyptian officials have declined to say whether a bomb caused the crash, saying a multi-national investigation is still underway.
Russia’s FSB security service said Tuesday that a bomb brought down the plane in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, killing all 224 people onboard. The Islamic State group claimed the attack.
Suspicions that a bomb caused the crash have led to flight cancellations to and from Egypt and dealt a major blow to its vital tourism industry.
Filed Under: Aerospace + defense
