The intelligence chief offered a reward of $50 million (£33 million) for information leading to the culprits’ arrest, appealing to the “Russian and worldwide communities for co-operation in identifying the terrorists”.
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However, Russian security service FSB head Alexander Bortnikov informed a meeting headed by President Vladimir Putin on Monday that an improvised explosive device with 1.5kg of TNT exploded in the plane mid-air.
An unusually subdued Putin called it “one of the bloodiest crimes”, and promised retribution for “the murder of our people in Sinai”.
“We won’t wipe the tears from our hearts and souls”. This will stay with us forever but will not stop us finding and punishing the criminals.
The “Islamic State” group claimed credit for the attack, which it said was in retaliation for Russian airstrikes in Syria.
Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the president’s order didn’t mean that Russian Federation was considering sending ground troops to Syria.
“We will find them wherever they are on the planet and punish them”, Putin said of the plane bombers.
“It is not the first time that Russian Federation confronts barbarous terrorist crimes”, he said.
The Egyptian prime minister and several members of the government, who attended a Tuesday news conference, did not confirm Russia’s announcement.
The news also raises the stakes of Russia’s military campaign in Syria.
A group linked to ISIS had earlier claimed responsibility for downing the plane, and Russian Federation had halted all flights to Egypt while refusing to initially endorse growing suspicions in Britain and the United States that the plane was blown up.
On Tuesday evening, he visited the defence ministry’s command centre in Moscow, to hear reports from military chiefs about what they were doing to implement his orders.
“There’s no statute of limitations for this”.
ISIS claimed responsibility soon after the crash.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry announced Tuesday the start of an global search for the organizers of the terrorist attack that downed a Russian airliner over Egypt’s Sinai. “We need to know all of their names”, Putin said. The plane was bound for St. Petersburg, Russia.
Mr Tusk said Russian action “must be focused more on Islamic State and not, because we can not accept it, against the moderate Syrian opposition”.
France has also increased its bombing efforts after the Paris attacks.
The Kremlin added that the two leaders will meet and talked on November 26, when Hollande is expected to visit Moscow.
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A total of 127 sorties were planned on Tuesday against 206 terrorist targets in Syria, with 82 sorties being flown, hitting 140 targets so far, an online Kremlin release quoted Shoigu as saying.
