Iran Has Concrete Agreement with Russia for Purchase of 12 Planes -RussianMinister

Moscow – Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said there is already a concrete agreement between Russia and Iran for purchase of 12 planes.

Iran has shown interest in purchasing 100 Russia’s medium-haul SukhoiSuperjet 100 (SSJ100) passenger planes, but the agreement has only been reached regarding 12 aircraft as of the moment, the Sputnik News Agency quoted Novak on Saturday.

‘We are working out with our Iranian partners’ supply of our SukhoiSuperjet 100 aircraft. Our colleagues have confirmed that there is a concrete agreement for 12 planes already. In the short term, we are considering 30 aircraft. This is just the beginning because overall, the Iranians are interested in purchasing 100 SukhoiSuperjet aircraft,’ Novak said.

Last Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said talks were underway about exporting SSJ100 planes to Iran.

The SSJ100 is a twin-engine plane made by Russia’s Sukhoi Civil Aircraft Company. It can transport up to 98 passengers at a distance of up to 2,700 miles, and costs around $36 million in its basic configuration. The jet made its maiden flight in May 2008.

Novak told Rossiya 24 broadcaster on Saturday that Russian President Vladimir Putin visit to Iran in November 2015 made key development in relations between the two states.

The official expressed satisfaction with raise of trade exchange between Iran and Russia in 2016 and said that Tehran-Moscow trade exchange experienced 98 percent growth in January 2017 compared with January 2016.

IRNA

R.S