Reuters: Moscow urges ICAO to ease sanctions against Russian aviation industry

Russia is urging the UN 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.

A source in Russia's aviation sector told Reuters that Russian authorities are now trying to negotiate relief from sanctions, particularly on spare parts, which they say are critical for flight safety.

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.

"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, it added"

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.

By Khagan Isayev