Putin discusses early resumption of flights with Egypt's Sisi over phone

The Kremlin said Tuesday that Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Egyptian counterpart Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi discussed over phone the early resumption of Russian flights to Egypt, suspended after a terrorist attack on a Russian passenger plane.

"The parties expressed interest in the early implementation of measures aimed at improving security at Egyptian airports, which would resume Russian flights to Egypt and restore tourist exchanges," the Kremlin said in a statement.

On Oct. 31, 2015, a Russia-bound Airbus A321 crashed shortly after taking off from Egypt's Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, killing all 224 people onboard, mostly Russians.

The Russian Federal Security Service announced later that the plane was brought down by a bomb, and Putin then ordered the suspension of all of the country's flights to Egypt following the tragedy.

Egypt is a top tourist destination for many Russians, and local authorities have since been actively improving security at the country's airports and resorts.

Russian officials have also repeatedly expressed hope at restoring flights to Egypt before the summer holiday season starts.

In late March, however, an EgyptAir plane heading from Egypt's second-largest city Alexandria to Cairo with 56 passengers and eight crew members on board was hijacked and diverted to Cyprus.

The Kremlin then decided that it was premature to talk about resuming flights for safety reasons. Endi