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By Damien Sharkov
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The Egyptian government says it can no longer dismiss the possibility that the crash of the Russian liner in the Sinai peninsula on Saturday was caused by a bomb, with an official now describing it as the "most plausible scenario," according to an American news channel.
The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to ABC News at the Sharm el-Sheikh airport, said that the government has altered the order of its list of potential explanations for the plane crash, which killed all 224 people on board. A technical problem is now at the bottom of the list of possible scenarios, despite initial statements from Cairo favouring this theory.
The Russian government, which has also been cautious in accepting the possibility that a militant group may have caused the crash, has suspended flights from Egypt but denied that this is an admission that they now hold the theory of a bomb on board as more likely.
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Following a meeting with security chiefs, after which the head of the Russian federal security service publicly advised the Kremlin to suspend flights in Egypt, Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed with the recommendation.
Shortly after the announcement Dmitry Peskov, Putin's spokesman, was asked by journalists if suspending flights meant Russia now considered the version of a terrorist attack more likely. He replied: "It does not mean that under any circumstance."
Peskov told Interfax: "At present no single version can take priority." He emphasized the importance of waiting until the end of the official investigation to determine likely cause.
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