The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, has suspended flights to Egypt, a Kremlin spokesman has said. The move came after the head of the Russian federal security service suggested it would be “expedient” to suspend flights until the conclusion of the investigation into what brought down a Russian-operated airliner over the Sinai peninsula on Saturday, killing all 224 people on board. Russia had previously suggested the UK was pre-judging the outcome of the investigation when it and Ireland suspended flights on Wednesday to and from the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. The UK prime minister, David Cameron, has said it was “more likely than not” a bomb brought down the Metrojet Airbus A321-200. “I think it will be reasonable to suspend all Russian flights to Egypt until we determine the real reasons of what happened,” Russian intelligence chief Alexander Bortnikov said in televised comments shortly before the Kremlin announced the suspension. “It concerns tourist flights most of all.” Dmitry Peskov, the Kremin spokesman, said Putin was not suspending flights until the end of the crash investigation, but only until flight safety could be guaranteed, state news agency Tass reported. “We need to make a clarification here: The president meant a suspension of air travel with Egypt until it is possible to establish the necessary safety level for air travel,” Peskov said. Putin also ordered the Russian government to establish mechanisms to bring its citizens home, Peskov said. Around 45,000 Russians are currently on holiday in Egypt, Oleg Safonov, the head of Russia’s state tourism agency, Rostourism, told Tass.
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