A Special Russian Flight To Washington
Date
12/31/2024 8:12:20 AM
(MENAFN- Asia Times)
A Special Flight Squadron Il-96 departed Moscow at 0919 in the morning and went on to St. Petersburg, where it landed at 10:16. At 12:15, it departed St. Petersburg for New York, an 11-hour 52-minute flight, arriving at 12:10 am, December 26.
It would leave New York at 8:34 am and arrive in Washington at 09:27 am after a 53-minute flight. It would remain in Washington until later that afternoon, departing Dulles Airport at 16:49 (4:49 pm).
According to the official Russian spokesperson, Maria Zakharova, the flight was arranged for“another rotation of diplomats.”
If the flight actually brought high-level official interlocutors to Washington for meetings, the meetings could have lasted no more than a few hours. It is about a 50-minute trip from Dulles to downtown DC, but the meetings could have been held at the airport, shutting out possible press coverage. If this scenario turns out to be true, there would have been four hours for meetings, including lunch.
It is entirely speculative what took place, if anything. But there have been comments by both sides indicating that preparations are probably underway for an early Trump-Putin meeting. Different locations for such a meeting have been proposed, but it is certain that any location would need to offer both leaders very high levels of security.
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