MOSCOW, Jan. 4 (Xinhua) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree to resume direct flights to Egypt after more than two years of suspension due to a plane crash, the Kremlin said Thursday.

The first flight will likely be launched in February, Russian Transport Minister Maxim Sokolov said in Moscow last month following a meeting with visiting Egyptian Civil Aviation Minister Sherif Fathy.

Russia suspended all direct flights to Egypt after a Russian airplane bound for St. Petersburg crashed on Egypt's Sinai Peninsula on Oct. 31, 2015.

Moscow said the airliner was hit by a bomb planted by terrorists after taking off from the Red Sea resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh. All 224 people on board were killed.