Egypt's Ambassador in Moscow Mohamed el Badry received a delegation of the Egyptian Coptic Orthodox Church led by Bishop Raphael, the secretary of the Holy Synod.

The delegation was dispatched by Pope Tawadros II of Alexandria and Patriarch of St. Mark Diocese to offer condolences over the victims of the Russian plane that crashed over Egypt in late October.

The delegation had met with Deputy Chairman of the Russian Council of Muftis Rushan Abbyasov, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

It then met with Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, chairman of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate, the statement added.

On October 31, an Airbus A321 passenger aircraft operated by the Russian airline Kogalymavia under the brand name Metrojet crashed in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula. All 224 people, mostly Russians, on board the plane, bound for St. Petersburg, were killed.

Sources: MENA