Russia has asked the United States to allow it to buy Boeing Co. aircraft using money from billions of dollars of frozen state assets once a ceasefire is reached in Ukraine, citing a person in Moscow familiar with the matter, Bloomberg reports, UNN writes.
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Although, as the publication writes, this request is not a condition for agreeing to a ceasefire, Russia understands that frozen funds cannot be used to purchase aircraft without a ceasefire, the person said. An agreement allowing the purchase of aircraft could be part of easing sanctions in the event of a cessation of hostilities.
"The United States will not discuss any economic commitments until a ceasefire is reached," said Brian Hughes, a spokesman for the US National Security Council, in response to a request to comment on whether Russia was trying to buy Boeing aircraft. The US State Department declined to comment. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Boeing declined to comment.
American lawmakers have estimated that there are about $5 billion in Russian assets in the United States. In total, the United States and its allies have frozen about $280 billion in Russian central bank reserves, with more than two-thirds blocked in the EU.
Russia has publicly asked the United States to lift sanctions on its flagship airline PJSC Aeroflot and allow the resumption of direct flights between the two countries. The United States has not publicly responded to this proposal.
Boeing closed its Russian operations, including a large engineering center, after Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
The issue of the prospect of a potential resumption of Boeing sales to Russia is raised against the backdrop of the American aircraft manufacturer being ousted in other markets by the global tariff war initiated by US President Donald Trump. China has ordered its airlines to stop accepting American-made aircraft, Bloomberg News reported on Tuesday, and Ryanair Holdings Plc has said it may delay Boeing deliveries this year if they are subject to duties.
Aeroflot and other Russian airlines have been banned from being in the airspace of the United States and the EU, as well as from buying Boeing and Airbus SE aircraft, spare parts and necessary maintenance in accordance with sanctions imposed in response to the war.
Given that the fleet is largely dependent on foreign aircraft in a country that covers 11 time zones, Russian airlines were initially forced to disassemble parts of their aircraft and look for other ways to obtain components and maintenance, potentially jeopardizing safety standards.
After the start of the invasion, Russia confiscated 400 foreign aircraft leased to its airlines. The Russian National Welfare Fund has allocated 300 billion rubles ($3.7 billion) to purchase aircraft from international leasing companies to settle owners' claims.
According to roZMI estimates, at the beginning of last year, Russian airlines purchased 165 Boeing and Airbus aircraft, or about 40% of the total fleet of Russian aircraft.
Although Russia has not directly linked the end of the war in Ukraine with the lifting of sanctions by the United States and its G7 allies, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin and other high-ranking officials, as the publication writes, have stated that a peace agreement will require the lifting of Western punitive measures.