Rosaviatsia says ready for talks to 'clear confrontation' with Western aviation authorities

MOSCOW. April 27 (Interfax) - The Federal Air Transport Agency (Rosaviatsia) has declared its readiness for talks to "clear confrontation" with Western aviation authorities amid Western sanctions on Russian civil aviation.

"The Federal Air Transport Agency reaffirms its commitment to the principles and goals of the Chicago Convention and declares its openness and preparedness for the establishment of a productive bilateral negotiating process aimed at clearing the confrontation through mutual understanding and respect for the rights and obligations national members have under the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO)," the agency said in a statement.

The statement referred to the actions taken by "a number of unfriendly countries, including the United States and the European Union" since the beginning of the Russian military operation in Ukraine. These include the barring of Russian airlines from their respective airspace, the unilateral termination of leasing agreements for over 700 planes, the suspension of their airworthiness certificates, the inclusion of Russian airlines in the EU blacklist, etc.

"These unilateral actions are a direct deviation of the respective states from the key principles and fundamentals of the Chicago Convention, which declares full respect for the rights of all ICAO member states and fair opportunities for each of them to use airlines engaged in international air traffic," the agency said.

Most aircraft operated by Russian airlines are made abroad, primarily by U.S. Boeing and European Airbus. Before the West imposed sanctions on Russia, nearly all aircraft operated by Russia were registered abroad, mostly in Bermuda. As of the end of April, airlines registered 89% of the fleet in Russia, Transport Minister Vitaly Savelyev said on Tuesday. In the opinion of the Russian authorities, that allows for continuing the operation of these aircraft under sanctions.