BRUSSELS, Aug 25 (AFP) - EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana expressed shock Wednesday at twin Russian plane crashes which left nearly 90 dead, and said he hopes authorities make good progress in finding what caused them.
"I wish the best of success in pursuing the investigation to shed further light on these tragic incidents," said Solana, who sent a message of condolence to President Vladimir Putin voicing his "shock on learning the sad news".
The planes departed within about an hour of each other from the same Moscow airport late Tuesday bound for destinations in southern Russia and went down at almost precisely the same moment in two regions south of the Russian capital.
The crashes fueled terrorism jitters in Russia ahead of a key vote in the separatist republic of Chechnya.
Russian officials said they were probing the possibility that terrorists attacked the planes, but there were no claims of responsibility and no suggestion terrorism was being treated more seriously than other explanations.