RUSSIA: Moscow hands over more documents to Poland on the plane crash last year that killed President Lech Kaczynski
Record ID:
382160
RUSSIA: Moscow hands over more documents to Poland on the plane crash last year that killed President Lech Kaczynski
- Title: RUSSIA: Moscow hands over more documents to Poland on the plane crash last year that killed President Lech Kaczynski
- Date: 7th April 2011
- Summary: MOSCOW, RUSSIA (APRIL 6, 2011) (REUTERS) ( ** BEWARE FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY **) OFFICE OF RUSSIAN PROSECUTOR GENERAL SIGN OF THE OFFICE OF PROSECUTOR GENERAL EMBLEM MORE OUTSIDE OFFICE REPRESENTATIVES OF RUSSIA AND POLAND ENTERING (SOUNDBITE) (RUSSIAN) SAAK KARAPETYAN, HEAD OF DEPARTMENT OF INTERNATIONAL LEGAL COOPERATION, OFFICE OF PROSECUTOR GENERAL, SAYING: "Prosecutor General's office of the Russian Federation has prepared another set of documents following the request of legal assistance from our Polish colleagues. We therefore invited today the representative of the Polish embassy." POLISH FLAG FILES WITH DOCUMENTS ON DESK (SOUNDBITE) (Polish followed by Russian translation) LANGINA PUTKA, CHANCELLOR, POLISH EMBASSY, SAYING: "These documents are very important for us and we waited for them for a long time. I can assure you they will be sent to Poland as soon as possible." VARIOUS FILES WITH DOCUMENTS ON DESK LANGINA PUTKA SIGNING PROTOCOL JOURNALISTS (SOUNDBITE) (RUSSIAN) SAAK KARAPETYAN, HEAD OF DEPARTMENT OF INTERNATIONAL LEGAL COOPERATION, OFFICE OF PROSECUTOR GENERAL, SAYING: "On the request of our Polish colleagues we also hand over a disk with in-flight recordings of all conversations." PHOTOGRAPHERS POLISH SIDE TAKING FILES AWAY
- Embargoed: 22nd April 2011 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Russian Federation
- Country: Russia
- Topics: International Relations,Disasters / Accidents / Natural catastrophes
- Reuters ID: LVA88VEDP4Q422OPGWB5L2V9UL9P
- Story Text: Russian Prosecutor General's office handed over to the Polish embassy in Moscow on Wednesday (April 6) 14 volumes of documents in connection with the investigation of the plane crash last year that killed Poland's president Lech Kaczynski.
"Prosecutor General's office of the Russian Federation has prepared another set of documents following the request of legal assistance from our Polish colleagues. We therefore invited today the representative of the Polish embassy," said Saak Karapetyan, head of legal cooperation department handing over 14 volumes of investigation reports requested by Poland.
Last April, Polish President Lech Kaczynski was leading a delegation to a 70th anniversary commemoration at Katyn for those massacred when his plane crashed killing Kaczynski and all 95 fellow members of his delegation. That disaster encouraged a rapprochement between Moscow and Warsaw. Recriminations over who was at fault have since poisoned the atmosphere.
Russian inquiry blamed the Polish pilots and officials aboard for pressuring them to try and land in fog. The report provoked anger in Poland. Kaczynski's brother, who leads the opposition, accuses the government of being soft on Russia.
"These documents are very important for us and we waited for them for a long time. I can assure you they will be sent to Poland as soon as possible," said chancellor of the Polish embassy in Moscow Langina Putka after receiving the latest set of documents from the Russian side.
Russia's Interstate Aviation Committee (IAC), presenting its final report, played a recording of the voice of a crew member as the plane neared Smolensk where Kaczynski was to attend a memorial for Poles massacred by Soviet secret police in 1940. "He'll get mad," said the crew member, in Polish. The comment was translated by the IAC into Russian. IAC said the decision to land despite bad weather was the direct cause of the April crash, which killed 96 people, also including Kaczynski's wife.
"On the request of our Polish colleagues we also hand over a disk with in-flight recordings of all conversations," said Saak Karapetyan at documents exchange ceremony.
He added the investigation of the accident was still going on and the reports would be presented to Poland if requested.
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