The Kremlin on Wednesday said for the first time that there was a possibility that the crash of the plane carrying Yevgeny Prigozhin was the result of a deliberate act, but it would not allow an international investigation into the cause of the crash, Reuters reported. .

“Obviously, different versions are being considered, including the version – and you understand what I’m talking about – of, say, a deliberate atrocity,” Kremlin spokesman Dmytro Peskov told Russian journalists.

He also announced that Russia had told Brazil’s air crash investigation agency that it would not “at this time” conduct an investigation under international rules into the crash of the Brazilian Embraer plane, which killed Wagner’s former mercenary chief.

Prigozhin, two senior commanders in his Wagner group and four bodyguards were among 10 killed when the Embraer Legacy 600 jet crashed north of Moscow last week.

Dubbed “Putin’s cook” for years, he died exactly two months after staging a mutiny against Russia’s military command, the biggest challenge to President Vladimir Putin’s leadership since he came to power in 1999.

Brazil’s Center for the Investigation and Prevention of Aeronautical Incidents (CENIPA) said it would join the Russian-led investigation if invited and if the investigation is conducted in accordance with international rules.

Russia’s aviation authority is not required to invite CENIPA, but some experts say it should, especially since the U.S. and other Western governments suspect the Kremlin of being involved in the downing of the plane, which incidentally has a good safety record.

Why Brazil wants an international investigation into the causes of the plane crash in which Prigozhin died

According to the Montreal-based UN International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the flight from Moscow to St. Petersburg was domestic and therefore not covered by the international regulations, known in the industry as the legal name “Annex 13”.

“They are not mandatory, only recommended,” CENIPA spokesman Marcelo Moreno told Reuters after the agency sent an email last week asking Russia whether it would launch such an investigation.

“But if they say they will start an investigation and invite Brazil, we will certainly participate,” he added. CENIPA later said it had received a response from the Interstate Aviation Committee – Accident Investigation Commission (IAC) on Tuesday, with Russian authorities saying they would not open an Annex 13 investigation at this time.

American aviation safety consultant and former investigator John Cox says the domestic Russian investigation will always be in doubt without the involvement of Brazil, the country where the plane was built. When investigating aviation incidents, experts work together to improve aviation safety and are not blamed, but investigations are often influenced by political interests.

CENIPA and manufacturer Embraer want to prevent future accidents, but face problems in getting information from the investigation because of sanctions imposed on Russia and Moscow’s reluctance to allow external control.

More than 800 37- to 50-seat Embraer regional jets, built on the same platform as the Legacy 600 corporate jet, are in service, underscoring Brazil’s interest in participating in the investigation.