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Russia, Poland preparing visit of Polish delegation to Smolensk on April 10, says diplomat

The presidential plane of the Polish Air Force crashed in the morning of April 10, 2010 while trying to land at the Smolensk North Airport, killing eight crew and 88 passengers, including President Lech Kaczynski

MOSCOW, April 2. /TASS/. Moscow and Warsaw are organizing the visit of the Polish delegation to Smolensk and Katyn on April 10, taking into account the coronavirus situation, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova stated during Thursday’s briefing.

"The Polish side has addressed us with the request to organize a visit of the Polish delegation headed by Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki to Smolensk and Katyn on April 10, timed to the anniversary of the Polish presidential plane crash and the 80th anniversary of the events in Katyn. We maintain direct contact with our Polish partners, taking into account the situation in the world in relation to the spread of the coronavirus," she said.

Earlier, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki informed that he plans to visit Russia on the anniversaries of the tragic events in Smolensk and Katyn. Polish President Andrzej Duda said that he would not form part of the delegation. In late February, the Russian Foreign Ministry stated that Moscow would provide all the necessary support to the Polish delegation.

The Polish presidential plane crash

The Tupolev-154M presidential plane of the Polish Air Force crashed in the morning of April 10, 2010 while trying to land at the Smolensk North Airport, killing eight crew and 88 passengers, including President Lech Kaczynski. Criminal investigations are continuing in Poland and Russia.

The Interstate Aviation Committee (IAC) experts concluded that the crash happened as a result of the actions of crew, who had made the wrong decision to land under difficult weather conditions and under psychological pressure. The Polish governmental commission also named the crew’s mistakes among the causes of the crash, as well as the fact that the pilot ignored the TAWS (Terrain awareness and warning system) signals to prevent unintentional impact with the ground.

The Law and Justice Polish political party chaired by Jaroslaw Kaczynski, twin brother of the deceased Lech Kaczynski, disputed these conclusions initiated a revision of the experts’ work in 2015 by forming an updated sub-commission for investigating plane catastrophes.

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