The Kremlin has confirmed information about the agreement to fully resume air service between Russia and Egypt, including Egyptian resorts. This was stated by Dmitry Peskov, the press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation, to TASS.
Bassam Rada, an official representative of the Egyptian head of state's office, after a telephone conversation between Russian and Egyptian presidents Vladimir Putin and Abdel Fattah el-Sisi earlier said that the leaders had agreed on the resumption of air links in full between the airports of the two countries, including Hurghada and Sharm el-Sheikh.
The practical parameters of resuming flights from Russia to Hurghada and Sharm el-Sheikh will be worked out by the competent services, the Kremlin press service clarified after the conversation between the two leaders. "Taking into account the completed joint work to ensure high standards of aviation security at Egyptian airports, a principal agreement has been reached to restore full-format air traffic between the Russian Federation and the Arab Republic of Egypt, which corresponds to the friendly nature of relations between the two countries and peoples," the Kremlin noted.
The Kremlin also reported that Putin and el-Sisi discussed supplies of Russian vaccines against coronavirus and localization of their production in Egypt. As the press service of the Russian leader pointed out, the conversation stated that the Treaty on Comprehensive Partnership and Strategic Cooperation between Russia and Egypt, which entered into force in January this year, will further increase bilateral cooperation in various fields. "In this context, they reviewed the implementation of major joint projects in the trade, economic and energy sectors, as well as the topic of countering the spread of coronavirus infection, including the supply of Russian vaccines and the localization of their production in Egypt," the report said.
The leaders also exchanged views on the efforts made by both countries to facilitate the settlement in Libya, the Kremlin added.
Air traffic problems between Russia and Egypt
Air service between Russia and Egypt was completely interrupted in November 2015 after the crash in Sinai of the Russian company Kogalymavia plane flying from Sharm el-Sheikh to St. Petersburg. There were 217 passengers and seven crew members on board, all of whom died. The FSB qualified the incident as a terrorist attack.
In January 2018, Putin signed a decree resuming regular flights to Cairo. The first flight from Moscow took place four months later, in April.
In 2020, flights between the two countries were interrupted due to the coronavirus pandemic.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Creative Commons
Based on materials from TASS