MOSCOW, November 5. /TASS /. Chairman of Russia’s Federation Council International Affairs Committee Konstantin Kosachev has said that Russia will take an immediate decision to cancel flights to Egypt’s Sharm el-Sheikh only if there are sufficient grounds for that.
"I am certain that Russia will take such decisions [on terminating flights to Egypt] immediately, if there are sufficient grounds for that," the senator told reporters on Thursday, commenting on the UK’s decision to cancel flights to Sharm el-Sheikh. In his opinion, there is "an element of psychological pressure" in Britain’s decision. "I cannot say that it is the only one, but there is every likelihood that it is present there," the senator added.
Kosachev noted that "the geopolitical resistance to Russia’s actions in Syria was in progress." "No matter how blasphemous this may sound, I think there are plenty of those who would choose well in advance, without proper grounds, to attribute this disaster to jihadists’ response to Russia’s actions," he said.
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He added that the current situation, including media reports, "so far did not make it possible to draw radical conclusions." "I assume that the majority of the countries take a more responsible approach to such decisions and will take them only if there are sufficient grounds for that," he said.
On Wednesday, the UK halted all flights between Britain and Sharm el-Sheikh saying that there was a "significant possibility" an explosive device caused the crash of the Russian plane over Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula.
An A321 passenger jet of Russia’s Kogalymavia air carrier (flight 9268) bound to St. Petersburg crashed on October 31 some 30 minutes after the takeoff from Egypt’s Sharm el-Sheikh.
It fell down 100 kilometers south of the administrative center of North Sinai Governorate, the city of Al-Arish. The plane was carrying 217 passengers and seven crew members. There were four Ukrainian and one Belarusian nationals among the passengers. None of them survived.