MOSCOW — President Vladimir V. Putin on Friday suspended all flights from Russia to Egypt, the most popular tourist destination for Russians, until the cause of a mysterious plane crash that killed 224 people over the Sinai Peninsula had been established.
Mr. Putin’s decision, which followed a recommendation from Alexander Bortnikov, the director of the Federal Security Service, was the first breach in what has largely been a wall of silence from Russian and Egyptian authorities over 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, and President Obama, raised it as a possibility.
On Friday, the British government, which is trying to bring roughly 20,000 of its citizens back to Britain from Egypt, banned checked luggage on all flights from Sharm el Sheikh, where frustrated tourists at the airport heckled John Casson, the British ambassador to Egypt. Turkish Airlines canceled all flights to and from the resort city, after a security assessment conducted at the airport. The Belgian, Dutch and French governments have all cautioned their citizens to limit travel to Sharm el Sheikh.
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