Russian President Vladimir Putin told Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi in a phone call on Thursday that Russian flights between Moscow and Cairo will resume soon, the Egyptian presidency said in a statement.

Russia halted flights to Egypt after a passenger jet crashed in Sinai in October 2015, killing 224 people, most of whom were holiday makers.

Shortly after the crash, the Islamic State militant group claimed it had downed the plane with a bomb, though Egyptian authorities have not yet confirmed the cause of the crash.

The two leaders discussed topics including the situation in Syria during their phone conversation, the Kremlin said earlier on Thursday.

"They exchanged views on the current situation in the Middle East and North Africa, including the issues of resolving the crises in Syria and Libya," the Kremlin press service said in a statement.