According to papers and sources, Russian airlines have started preliminary conversations with at least one large Western leasing firm about using state funding to purchase some of the more than 400 planes stranded in Russia following its invasion of Ukraine.
The proposal, which would require EU approval and would put the scope for compromise in an economic war between Moscow and the West to the test, could reduce a multibillion-dollar bill for lessors and insurers while also allowing Russian airlines to secure formal ownership of planes at a potentially steep discount.
According to a Russian aviation source, the plan is still being debated, but some Russian authorities are sceptical that it will be approved by the European Union.
An EU official involved with the discussions declined to comment.
Prior to what Moscow refers to as its ‘special military operation’ in Ukraine, Russia was a major market for aircraft lessors, who purchased jets from Boeing and Airbus and leased them to Russian airlines that wanted to avoid the high upfront costs and inflexibility of purchasing planes themselves.
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