Egypt to take Russian findings 'into consideration', no proof of 'criminal act' yet
Menna Alaa El-Din, Tuesday 17 Nov 2015
Egypt's Civil Aviation Minister Hossam Kamal said that the Egyptian investigation committee is the only official authority mandated to release findings about the crash


Egypt's Prime Minister Sherif Ismail said that Egypt and the committee leading investigations into the plane crash would take into consideration the findings provided by Russian authorities, which revealed the airliner was downed by an explosive device.

The statements -- Egypt's official response to the Kremlin announcement earlier on Tuesday that confirmed that a bomb ripped apart the Russian passenger jet over Egypt's Sinai -- came during the cabinet press conference in Sharm El-Sheikh following a meeting.

PM Sherif Ismail also said that compensation for the Russian victims is 'unlikely', as Egypt's investigating committee has not issued its report yet.

Since the Russian plane crash on 31 October, the cabinet has been holding all of its weekly meetings in Sharm El-Sheikh to reassure tourists of the resort’s safety.

Egyptian Civil Aviation Minister Hossam Kamal said that the Egypt's investigation committee has not yet found any proof that a "criminal act" was behind the Russian plane crash.

He stated that if evidence of foul play is found, the case would be handled by the Egyptian prosecution and Egypt would be the first to announce the findings of the investigation committee.

Kamal also said that Egypt has contacted Russia so that the latter would pass on their findings on the accident. He added that they would take action if Egypt found the Russian findings to be legitimate.

He stressed that the Egyptian investigating committee is the only official authority with a mandated allowing them to release findings about the crash.

In the same press conference, the Interior Minister Magdy Abdel-Ghaffar said that the police currently inspect passengers' and workers' luggage, as well as inspecting and securing planes.

Abdel-Ghaffar also said that the ministry has established security units responsible for gathering information about the reasons behind the accident as well as its security implications.

https://english.ahram.org.eg/News/168924.aspx