Kaczynski plane crash inquiry was open, conducted in cooperation with Polish experts - Russian Foreign Ministry
MOSCOW. Nov 12 (Interfax) - Russia did all it could to investigate the crash of the plane of Polish President Lech Kaczynski near Smolensk on April 10, 2010, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said at a briefing in Moscow on Thursday.
"Russia demonstrated maximum openness on this issue and was most cooperative, having offered all possible assistance to Polish experts in investigating the causes of the accident," Zakharova said.
She was commenting on the remarks by Witold Waszczykowski, the main candidate for the office of the Polish foreign minister, who said the new Polish government is set to challenge the results of the inquiry into the air crash near Smolensk.
Zakharova also recalled "the comprehensive cooperation between Russian and Polish experts in investigating this tragedy."
Waszczykowski's remarks "are his own choice, he is an independent representative of a sovereign country and correspondingly makes corresponding statements," the Russian diplomat said.
Commenting on Warsaw's calls for the plane wreck to be handed over to Poland, Zakharova said: "This issue cannot be considered in this sphere, because it relies on Russian laws, on the investigation that was held in Russia."
"This is why these issues are the competence of the relevant Russian bodies," she said.
Waszczykowski said earlier that the new Polish government is going to challenge the results of the Russian inquiry into the presidential plane's crash near Smolensk and invite international experts.
The plane of L. Kaczynski crashed near Smolensk on April 10, 2010. All 96 people on board were killed. Kaczynski had been on the way to attend events in Katyn, the burial place of Polish officers executed by the Soviet NKVD (People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs) in 1940.
The inquiry found that the plane crashed because of the crew's failure to accept the decision to fly to an alternative airport because of poor visibility conditions, and the lack of due reaction and response by the crew to the repeated signals sent by the Terrain Awareness and Warning System.