Vladimir Putin has agreed to suspend all Russian flights to Egypt after a recommendation by his intelligence chief for a halt until the cause of last week's crash is determined.

The suspension comes after several days of statements by British and American officials that it was possible a bomb on board had brought down the Russia carrier Metrojet's Airbus A321-200, which crashed 23 minutes after take-off from the Sinai resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, killing all 224 people on board.

Russian and Egyptian officials had bristled at the statements, saying it was too soon to tell the cause.

The suspension, covering all of Egypt, is even more sweeping than that imposed by Britain, which has halted flights to Sharm el-Sheikh only.