Russia has informed Brazil’s aircraft investigation authority that it will not probe the crash of the Brazilian-made jet that killed Wagner mercenary boss Yevgeny Prigozhin under international rules “at the moment”, Reuters reports.

Russian oligarch Yevgeny Prigozhin, the former ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, died in the Embraer Legacy 600 crash north of Moscow last week.

Russia is not obligated to agree to the request of Brazil’s Center for Research and Prevention of Aeronautical Accidents which said it would join a Russian-led investigation if it were invited and the probe held under international rules in the interests of improving aviation safety.

However, some former investigators said it should, as Western governments suspect that the Kremlin was behind the crash of the jet.