MOSCOW - Russia and Egypt have signed an agreement on cooperation on civil aviation security in a first step to resuming regular Russian flights to Cairo, the transport ministry said on Friday.

The agreement should allow flights to Cairo to resume in February 2018, the ministry quoted Transport Minister Maxim Sokolov as saying.

Moscow halted civilian air traffic to Egypt in 2015 after militants detonated a bomb on a Russian Metrojet flight leaving the tourist resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, killing 224 people on board.

(Reporting by Gleb Stolyarov; writing by Maria Kiselyova; Editing by Richard Balmforth) ((maria.kiselyova@thomsonreuters.com; +7 495 775 1242; Reuters Messaging: maria.kiselyova.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))