ANTALYA, November 16. /TASS/. The study of materials on the case of the crash of the Russian plane in Egypt is at its final stage, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said during a meeting with Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi on the sidelines of the Group of Twenty (G20) summit in Turkey’s Antalya on Monday.
"We are at the final stage of studying the materials," the Russian leader said.
Renzi once again expressed condolences on the tragedy on behalf of himself and the entire Italian people, adding that countries must show unity, above all, in combating terrorism. "We must show unity. Above all, this unity should be displayed in the fight against terrorism," the Italian prime minister said.
The Russian president noted that, despite all the difficulties the two countries encounter in the political, economic and security areas, relations between Moscow and Rome were developing quite successfully.
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He congratulated Renzi on the success of EXPO-2015. "More than 21 million people visited the exhibition. We are pleased that more than 4 million people saw the Russian pavilion," Putin said.
The Italian premier thanked Russia for taking part in the exhibition. "In addition to Russians, it was visited by the Russian president, that’s the main thing. I remember your visit to the Russian pavilion, and I was even able to taste the most dainty dishes of the Russian cuisine," Renzi said.
The air crash over Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula that occurred on October 31, 2015, was one of the largest in the history of world aviation.
An A321 passenger jet of Russia’s Kogalymavia air carrier (flight 9268) bound to St. Petersburg crashed 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.