President Vladimir V. Putin on Friday suspended all flights from Russia to Egypt, the most popular foreign tourist destination for Russians, until the cause of a mysterious plane crash that killed 224 people over the Sinai Peninsula can be established. Mr. Putin’s decision was the first breach in what has largely been a consistent response from Russian and Egyptian authorities to the crash on Saturday. Until now, the two countries have been playing down the possibility of terrorism — even as Prime Minister David Cameron of Britain said it was likely a bomb and President Obama said “we are taking that very seriously.” A Kremlin spokesman said that Mr. Putin’s decision did not mean that the crash was caused by a terrorist act. Mr. Putin ordered that measures be taken to ensure that the roughly 45,000 Russian tourists already in Egypt could be brought home safely. Samples from the wreckage from the crash site in the Sinai Peninsula have been taken to Moscow for examination. n the post-9/11 world, the stringent security protocols surrounding air travel are designed to prevent precisely this kind of attack. If true, this bombing is clearly an inside job by personnel at the airport and a thorough investigation is required because the world needs to know how a bomb can be slipped onto a plane with all the security measures that are employed at airports these days. If IS is indeed behind the attack, the target – a Russian airliner full of Russian nationals leaving a tourist resort immensely popular with the country’s citizens – is an especially obvious one. Over the past couple of months, Russia has started to strengthen its presence and influence in the Middle East. The military operation in Syria in particular is proving to be a game changer, as the Islamic militant groups, especially the IS, ruining the country have been dealt more multiple major blows in a few weeks’ time than they did in the preceding years. Russia’s rationale for intervention was to support its long time ally, Bashar al-Assad, and to take pre-emptive measures to ensure the fallout of the militancy was not felt in its homeland. The concern is legitimate, since thousands of fighters in Syria are from Russia and former Soviet territories and could have brought the training and ideology home. As such, the Sinai plane bombing is the first of the predicted retaliatory attacks a pre-emptive campaign like the one in Syria can bring about. While Russian President Putin is being criticised in some quarters for indirectly causing the deaths of hundreds of its citizens by provoking the IS, this attack should solidify the resolve of Russia against the Islamist terrorists in the Middle East. Putin’s mission is to counteract the US intervention in the region and safeguard Russia from the potential jihadi fallout. Therefore he is unlikely to be deterred by IS’s retaliation.
pk.shafaqna.com
