Cairo – Mubasher: Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to suspend all Russian flights to Egypt after a recommendation by the federal security body for a halt until the cause of the crash of a passenger jet in the Sinai Peninsula is determined.

Friday's suspension came after several days of statements by British and American officials that it was possible a bomb on board had brought down the Russian carrier, Metrojet's Airbus A321-200, which crashed 23 minutes after takeoff from the Sinai resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.

There are around 45,000 Russian tourists in Egypt.

Meanwhile, the US Department of Homeland Security announced new security measures on Friday, including tighter screening of items before they are brought on board aircraft, for flights to the US from some foreign airports in the Middle East region.

Britain had on Wednesday suspended all flights to and from the resort, but flights were allowed to resume Friday with special security measures - such as passengers being allowed to carry only hand luggage.