MOSCOW, December 25. /TASS/. Air links with Egypt’s seaside resorts of Hurghada and Sharm el-Sheikh are unlikely to be resumed this winter, Russian Transport Minister Maxim Sokolov said in an interview for TASS special project Top Officials.

"The chances of resuming air links with Egypt’s seaside resorts during the winter season are slim. It’s a task to be addressed in the longer perspective. In this particular case, the dates do not depend on us," the minister said.

Earlier, Sokolov said Russia’s aviation specialists needed to carry out more checks at the airports of Hurghada and Sharm el-Sheikh. According to him, Russian experts will need at least one inspection of local airports.

At the moment, Russia and Egypt are preparing to resume regular air links suspended in autumn 2015 after a Russian A321 passenger jet owned by the Kogalymavia air carrier (flight 9268) crashed over the Sinai Peninsula. The plane was carrying 217 passengers and seven crew members. The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) said the tragedy was a terrorist attack.

On December 15, 2017 Russia and Egypt signed a protocol on cooperation in civil aviation security. Regular flights to Cairo could resume in February 2018, Sokolov said earlier. Egypt’s civil aviation ministry said the planes could already fly on February 1.