By Gleb Stolyarov and Allison Lampert
(Reuters) -Russia is urging the U.N. civil aviation agency to ease sanctions on spare parts and overflights, dismissing its response to the war in Ukraine as “unlawful coercive measures,” according to working papers and a source familiar with the matter.
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Western sanctions have cut off access to foreign-made aircraft and spare parts, leaving Russian airlines to source parts for more than 700 mostly Airbus and Boeing jets on complex, indirect import routes.
Russian authorities are now trying to negotiate relief from sanctions, particularly on spare parts, which they say are critical for flight safety, a source in Russia’s aviation sector told Reuters.
RUSSIAN MOVES A CHALLENGE FOR ICAO ASSEMBLY
Russia’s efforts are creating a challenge for a meeting in Montreal this week of the International Civil Aviation Organization, which sets global safety standards for civil aviation and has condemned Moscow for violating Ukraine’s airspace sovereignty and its dual registration of aircraft.
Russia made its request to the ICAO after the United States lifted sanctions on Belarusian state carrier Belavia last week that had been imposed following Minsk’s support for Moscow in its invasion of Ukraine.
In working papers submitted before the ICAO’s triennial assembly starting on Tuesday, Moscow has said the sanctions run counter to global rules. Russia is also trying to gain election to ICAO’s 36-state governing council after failing to win enough votes in 2022 following the invasion of Ukraine.
As the world’s largest country, Russia depends heavily on commercial aircraft for domestic freight and passenger transport across its 11 time zones, but recent incidents suggest Russia’s fleet is degrading.
In late July, a Soviet-era Antonov An-24, built in 1976, crashed in Russia’s far east, killing all 48 people on board. Days later, Russian flag carrier Aeroflot grounded dozens of flights following a crippling cyberattack.
“Unlawful coercive measures violate the human right to freedom of movement regardless of nationality and citizenship,” one Russian working paper said.
“The ICAO is required to take all practical measures to prevent states from applying politically biased discriminatory and coercive measures in the field of international civil aviation.”
RUSSIA HAS A FLEET OF AGING AIRCRAFT
The documents also criticise the closure of 37 states’ airspace to flight operations of Russian airlines, the suspension of certificates of airworthiness for aircraft operated by Russian airlines and bans on aircraft maintenance and insurance.
Russian aviation watchdog Rosaviatsiya did not respond to a Reuters request for comment and the Transport Ministry declined to comment. Ukrainian authorities were not immediately available to comment.
Russia’s fleet of Boeing and Airbus aircraft is aging, and not all parts can be imported through so-called “grey” schemes, the Russian aviation source told Reuters, meaning a significant portion of Western aircraft could be grounded.
“If in the near future a Russian Boeing or Airbus crashes and people die – what then? In any case, it will be blamed on sanctions,” the source said.
(Reporting by Gleb Stolyarov and Allison Lampert, Editing by Robert Harvey and Timothy Heritage)
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