Russian Transport Ministry intends to send to the government the draft of the Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decree on direct air link with Egypt by year’s end, Transport Minister Maxim Sokolov told reporters, Kommersant.ru reported.

He added that the countries will begin to discuss renewal of charter flights after infrastructure is ready for this.

Russia and Egypt signed a deal on Friday to resume flights between Moscow and the Egyptian capital of Cairo starting from February, after more than a two-year break, officials announced.

Moscow suspended flights to Egypt after a bomb by the local Islamic State affiliate brought down a Russian airliner over Sinai in October 2015, killing all 224 people on board.

The attack decimated Egypt's vital tourism industry. Egyptian authorities have since spent millions of dollars to upgrade security at its airports, hoping to get Moscow to change its mind.