MOSCOW. Dec 17 (Interfax) - Russia is interested in completing the investigation of the crash of the Polish presidential jet near Smolensk in 2010 as soon as possible, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said at a press conference after meeting his Polish counterpart Radoslaw Sikorski in Moscow on Monday.
"We want - this is our common interest - to complete the investigation as soon as possible and transfer the fragments of the aircraft to the Polish side and we will take every step for this to happen sooner," Lavrov said.
The Polish Air Force Tupolev Tu-154 crashed near Smolensk on April 10, 2010. It was carrying a Polish official delegation led by President Lech Kaczynski to commemoration ceremonies in Katyn. All 96 people aboard - 88 passengers and 8 crewmembers - died.
In January 2011, the International Aviation Committee published the final report on the results of the technical probe of the crash. It named as the immediate cause of the crash the decision of the crew not to fly to an alternate airport and as systemic causes - shortcomings in flight support and crew training.