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Kremlin spokesman: A321 crash causes not discussed at interstate level

Dmitry Peskov gave no answer to the question whether Russia had referred to the Egyptian side the expert report saying the crash had been caused by a terrorist attack

ST. PETERSBURG, December 14. /TASS/. Russia has not discussed causes of the Russian A321 passenger plane crash in Egypt with other countries at the interstate level, Russian president’s press secretary Dmitry Peskov told journalists on Monday.

"In this case, the central point is the report [on the crash causes] of our experts, which was reported to the president [of Russia Vladimir Putin] by director of the Federal Security Service [Alexander] Bortnikov]," he said.

He gave no answer to the question whether Russia had referred to the Egyptian side the expert report saying the crash had been caused by a terrorist attack. "It would be wrong to inform about the actions of investigative bodies from the Kremlin," he said.

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 survived.

It was the biggest air crash in the history of Russia’s aviation. It was announced on November 17 that the crash had been caused by an act of terror committed by means of a home-made explosive devise with a yield of up to one kilogram of TNT. Following the crash, Russia suspended air service with Egypt.