UK comments on crashed Russian plane ‘unwarranted’: Egypt

CAIRO

The Egyptian government has criticized a British suggestion that a Russian passenger plane that crashed last week was brought down by a bomb.

The British government has suspended all flights between Britain and Egypt's Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh until the cause of the crash is revealed.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry described the British move as "premature" and "unwarranted".

"I think it is somewhat premature to make declarations related to what might or might not have happened to the aircraft before the investigation is completed and before there is a definitive cause for this crash," Shoukry told CNN on Wednesday.

He said the British decision to suspend flights to Sharm el-Sheikh in connection to the Russian plane crash was "surprising".

"The Egyptian government will announce the results of investigation and analysis of the plane's black boxes once completed and we should not jump to premature conclusions," he said.

On Saturday, a Russian Airbus A321 aircraft crashed in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula shortly after taking off from Sharm el-Sheikh, killing all 224 people on board.

Egyptian officials, for their part, have suggested the crash may have been caused by a technical problem and have denied a claim by a Daesh-linked group that it had brought down the plane.

But British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said Wednesday that there was a "significant possibility" the plane was brought down by a bomb.

"We have concluded that there is a significant possibility that the crash was caused by an explosive device on board the aircraft," he said. "We are now advising against all but essential travel by air through Sharm el-Sheikh Airport. That means that there will be no U.K. passenger flights out to Sharm el-Sheikh from now."

The British statements came as Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi began a three-day visit to Britain on Wednesday.