Chinese President Xi Jinping sent a message of condolences on Sunday to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin over the crash of a Russian airliner in Egypt, which killed all the 224 people onboard.

In the message, Xi extended profound condolences to the victims of the crash and expressed sincere sympathies to the families of the victims.

At the current sorrowful moment for the Russian people, the Chinese people firmly stand side by side with them, Xi said.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, who has been in Seoul, South Korea to attend the sixth China-Japan-South Korea leaders' meeting, also sent a message of condolences on Sunday to his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev.

An Airbus A-321 operated by Russian airline Kogalymavia, with 217 passengers, most of whom are Russians, and seven crew members onboard, crashed early Saturday in the Sinai Peninsula shortly after it took off from Egypt's Red Sea Resort Sharm el-Sheikh. No survivor has been reported.