Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan has sent a telegram of condolences to President Vladimir Putin of Russia over the crash of the Russian airliner en route from the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh to St Petersburg, which claimed the lives of all 224 people on board.

“On behalf of the people of Armenia and on my own behalf, on this hard moment for Russia, I express sincere condolences to you, the relatives of the victims and the brotherly people of Russia,” President Sargsyan wrote.