Friday, Apr 27, 2007
International
Russia clears Chinese jets for Pakistan http://www.hindu.com/2007/04/27/stories/2007042702311500.htm
Vladimir Radyuhin
MOSCOW: Russia has given the green light to the supply of Chinese jet fighters powered by Russian engines to Pakistan, government officials said here.
Moscow has issued a formal permission to China to re-export Russian-made engines to Pakistan, the Kommersant daily reported on Thursday.
Quoting a Russian government source the paper said Russia and China had reached an agreement on "The joint assembly of the JF-17 fighters equipped with the Klimov factory's RD-93 engines and their marketing in third countries."
The source said the planes will be sold to Pakistan and some countries in South-East Asia and Africa where "The Chinese have traditionally had strong positions."
"President Vladimir Putin personally supervised the Chinese deal and put his signature to the [re-export] clearance documents," Kommersant was told in the Russian President's Kremlin administration.
The engine re-export permission opens the way for the supply to China of 100 RD-39 engines under a 2005 contract worth $238 million. China mulls increasing the order to 1000 engines provided their thrust is increased, Kommersant said.
The paper claimed that the deal does not mean that Pakistan has been put on the Russian defence supply list. "It is a one-time contract," it said. India has strongly objected to the supply of Russian engines to Pakistan, and the original Russian contract banned any re-export of the engines. However, now the Kremlin says the deal does not infringe on Indian interests.
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