Russian Transportation Minister Maxim Sokolov announced on Friday that flights between Cairo and Moscow will resume after they were halted in 2015. Sokolov said he and Egyptian Minister of Civil Aviation Sherif Fathi signed a protocol on security cooperation that would allow direct flights between Moscow and Cairo to resume, starting from February. Russia, however, is not yet talking about resuming charter flights to Egyptian resorts on the Red Sea, once a popular destination for Russian tourists, Sokolov said, adding that this would be "the next stage" of negotiations. Later Friday, Egypts civil aviation ministry said in a statement that the two sides will hold talks in April on the resumption of Russian flights to Egyptian resorts. Moscow suspended flights to Egypt after the crash of a Russian airliner over Sinai in October 2015, killing all 224 people on board. President Vladimir Putin on a visit to Cairo on Monday said the deal on the resumption of flights could be signed "in the nearest time."