Meanwhile, Russian Federation is suspending flights to Egypt amid growing evidence that a jet with 224 people on board was blown up by a terrorist bomb.
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The move, which follows decisions by Britain and others to suspend flights to and from Sharm Al Sheikh, the Egyptian resort where the downed Russian airliner originated, may be the first sign that Moscow is attaching credibility to the theory that Daesh militants somehow planted a bomb on the aircraft.
As the suspicions grew, Russian Federation appeared unwilling to countenance the possibility, and Egyptian officials played down terrorism as a cause of the crash, with President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi calling the IS claim “propaganda” created to embarrass his government.
Investigators were continuing to study the cause of the crash Friday, and Russian officials said their experts had taken fragments of the plane and soil samples as part of their own investigation to determine whether or not explosives were used.
Putin had also ordered the government to open talks with Egyptian authorities to guarantee the safety of flights, said Peskov.
“Until we have determined the true reasons for what happened, I consider it expedient to stop flights by Russian aviation to Egypt”, FSB chief Alexander Bortnikov said in televised comments.
“Flights are coming in which will allow us to take more people home today”, Casson said in Sharm al-Sheikh.
The result was chaos and high tempers as British tourists brought to the airport were told their flights were not coming to get them.
British Airways said its flight from Sharm to Gatwick was expected to leave as planned while five Monarch planes have left the United Kingdom for Egypt, with the airline saying they are expected to return on schedule. There are an estimated 40,000 Russian tourists now in Egypt.
Head of Russia’s federal tourism agency Rosturism Oleg Safonov said there were around 45,000 Russian tourists in Egypt – most of whom were vacationing in the beach resort of Hurghada and Sharm el-Sheikh, the TASS news agency reported.
All British flights to Sharm el-Sheikh were grounded on Wednesday evening amid the security fears, but plans to bring home stranded holidaymakers are in disarray.
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Passengers were told heightened security measures meant their luggage would be flown back to Britain separately and returned to them seven to ten days later and that they would be permitted to take just 5 kilograms (11 pounds) of hand luggage with them.
