21.   A better assessment of the damage will only be able to be made after the plane is returned to U.S. hands, the official said.

22.   A spokesman for Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov, who was visiting Baku, said Monday that President Geidar Aliev had told him the plane could be returned to Russia.

23.   All manned NATO planes returned to base safely from overnight attacks, he said.

24.   And we expect there to be contact as soon as possible with our crew members, and we expect that plane to be returned to us.

25.   An Israeli Cabinet minister had suggested that some of those aboard might be held in Israel after the plane was returned.

26.   But there was no indication from the report that China is preparing to return the plane.

27.   China freed the crew after a tense standoff, but has not returned the plane.

28.   China still has not said whether it will return the plane.

29.   China, which has not said it will return the plane, is expected to answer the U.S. proposal through diplomatic channels.

30.   He reported all the planes returned safely to Aviano and other bases in Italy.