VLADIMIR PUTIN
ARCHIVE OF THE OFFICIAL SITE
OF THE 2008-2012 PRIME MINISTER
OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION
VLADIMIR PUTIN
ARCHIVE OF THE OFFICIAL SITE
OF THE 2008-2012 PRIME MINISTER
OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION
VLADIMIR PUTIN
Transcript of the beginning of the meeting:
Vladimir Putin: Let's start with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. How are preparations going for the arrival of the victims' relatives?
Vladimir Titov: We are working closely with our Polish counterparts. As of today, there is not much information. The main news is that a special flight is being arranged. Relatives of the victims will most likely arrive in Moscow at around six in the evening.
Vladimir Putin: The main groups?
Vladimir Titov: Yes.
Vladimir Putin: Alright. Are you (addressing Igor Levitin) in contact with the services? Is everything working, do we have transport ready?
Igor Levitin: We have granted them access to our airspace and said, "We are ready to receive you at any time." The emergency response team is at the airport. In 30 minutes, a charter flight with the Polish Health Minister should be arriving, as you arranged yesterday.
Vladimir Putin: With a group of medical professionals...
Igor Levitin: With a group of medical professionals. Our deputy health minister is meeting them at Sheremetyevo.
Vladimir Putin: Good. How is your work with your Polish colleagues coming along at the Transportation Ministry?
Igor Levitin: We have split into two groups. One is working here at the site. They asked us not to move the aircraft until midweek, and we agreed that we will leave them here to work under the protection of the Interior Ministry.
Half an hour ago, another 20 air crash investigators flew in. They are currently working at the site. We held a meeting this morning. We have carried out all the requests made by the Polish side. There are no further issues.
A second group in Moscow set about transcribing the cockpit voice recorder this morning. The quality of the recording is satisfactory, so we can get reliable information about the flight. We will start decoding the flight data recorder in a few hours. We are working with our Polish colleagues and the General Prosecutor's Office. We opened them together.
Vladimir Putin: So the recorders were opened in the presence of your Polish counterparts?
Igor Levitin: And the prosecutor's office.
Vladimir Putin: And the prosecutor's office. Good. How is the investigation by the General Prosecutor's Office coming along?
Alexander Bastrykin: We are currently working at the site. We've found the remains of another two bodies that couldn't be located yesterday. Today, in Moscow we are finishing up the forensic investigation - 81 bodies have been examined.
By the end of today, we'll be able to release the bodies to our Polish colleagues, provided we have identified all of the bodies first. I can confirm that the materials that we retrieved from the console yesterday corroborate what was recorded by the recorder. The work is being carried out under the supervision of and in close cooperation with Polish investigators and attorneys, who are involved in all the main legal and investigative operations.
Vladimir Putin: Are the crew's communications with the air traffic controller being transcribed here or also in Moscow?
Alexander Bastrykin: Decoding of the black boxes...
Vladimir Putin: No, not the boxes, the reels.
Alexander Bastrykin: The reels have already been decoded here. We did a preliminary analysis, and it will be analysed in greater detail in Moscow. But let me repeat that the recording we have confirms that there were no problems with the plane and that the pilot was informed of the bad weather conditions but decided to proceed with the landing anyway.
Vladimir Putin: Alright. Mr Shoigu, do you have anything to add?
Sergei Shoigu: Mr Putin, all of the work has been organised both here at the site and in Moscow, and at all of the airports. Together with our colleagues from the Health Ministry, we have contacted our embassy in Warsaw. The embassy is working with Polish ministries and agencies to send the victims' relatives to Russia. This is the information we have so far through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. There is nothing to add. Most of our work here is finished. The better part of our professionals is helping investigative agencies to lift various pieces of equipment. The same goes for the Transport Ministry. Our job is to arrange for the relatives' arrival, because the main task for us and the Health Ministry is now identifying the bodies.
Vladimir Putin: As far as I know, there are no issues involving the Interior Ministry, right? Has security been provided here at the site and at the places where the relatives will arrive?
Rashid Nurgaliyev: Six hundred and seventy five people have been fully mobilised, 130 of which are Interior Ministry troops. All the sites that are important to the investigation are being guarded. There have been no incidents in the last 24 hours. Around 130 Polish citizens are in the city and we've taken security precautions as they checked in at the hotel. On the whole, the situation is under control. Everything is going as planned.
Vladimir Putin: Good, thank you.
