Kremlin Hopes UK Will Provide Data Backing A321 Terror Attack Statements

On Wednesday, the UK government concluded that the Russian passenger plane en route from Sharm el-Sheikh to St. Petersburg might have crashed on October 31 due to a bomb explosion, and suspended all flights to and from the Egyptian city until additional security measures were taken.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Russia hopes the United Kingdom will provide data to back recent statements that the Russian airliner crash in Egypt was likely caused by a terrorist attack, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Thursday.

"If there is any serious data, we certainly hope that whoever possesses this data will provide it to the investigation," Peskov told reporters.

"We have said it before and we say it again: any versions regarding the incident and its causes may only be voiced by the investigation. We have not heard any statements from the investigators so far. Any other statements are either unverified information or some kind of speculations," the spokesman underscored.

Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry has already criticized London's decision to suspend air traffic, labeling the move premature.

No theory on the Kogalymavia flight 9268 crash in Egypt can be excluded, and it is too early to point to one specific version of events, Peskov said.

"Of course, all information is gathered and reported to the head of state. It is impossible to exclude any versions at this time, but at the same time, there are no reasons to state that one version is the most probable."

On October 31, an Airbus A321 operated by Russian airline Kogalymavia, crashed in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula. All 224 people on board were killed in what has become the largest civil aviation disaster in Russian and Soviet history.