Kremlin Not Aware of Egypt Airport Staff Arrests

Russia is not aware of possible arrests made at the Sharm el-Sheikh International Airport, according to the Kremlin spokesman.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday Russian authorities had not received information on the arrests of two employees of the Egyptian airport in Sharm el-Sheikh.

"No," Peskov said, responding to comments by journalists as to whether the Kremlin had been alerted about reports that Egyptian authorities were holding two Sharm el-Sheikh International Airport employees in connection with the October 31 Russian airliner crash.

The airport employees are suspected of aiding in the planting of a bomb inside the passenger jet, according to reports.

Local sources later told Sputnik that the two were on duty at the time the plane, bound for St. Petersburg, took off from Sharm el-Sheikh. The Egyptian Interior Ministry dismissed the reports as unfounded.

Russian President Vladimir Putin classified the Kogalymavia flight 9268 crash over the Sinai Peninsula, in which all 224 people aboard were killed, as "one of the bloodiest" terrorist attacks perpetrated against Russia.

Russian authorities announced earlier that traces of explosives had been found among the Airbus A321 debris, indicating that the crash was the result of a bomb.

A $50 million reward has been offered for information leading to the capture and prosecution of those responsible for the crash largest civil aviation disaster in Russian history.