MOSCOW, Sept 3 (Reuters) – Russia’s Transport Ministry said on Thursday that it has provided clarifications to foreign airlines about Russian airports’ and airspace safety measures after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy warned that flights in Russia had become unsafe.
“They work very closely with us and understand all our rules, standards and how we ensure flight safety,” Russian news agency Interfax quoted Transport Minister Andrei Nikitin as saying.
He said that the ministry gave the clarifications in response to requests from foreign carriers.
On Wednesday, Russian aviation watchdog Rosaviatsiya issued a statement contradicting Zelenskiy’s warning.
“Russian air transport, its ground infrastructure, continue to operate normally, receiving and dispatching flights, including those of foreign airlines,” the regulator said.
Zelenskiy warned airlines and insurance companies on Tuesday that the presence of Ukrainian drones had made Russian airspace dangerous to use and said it was effectively closed.
While European and U.S. carriers have avoided Russian airspace since the start of the Ukraine war in 2022, airlines from China, Turkey and Gulf states still use it.
(Reporting by Reuters; Writing by Gleb Stolyarov; Editing by Gleb Bryanski and Tomasz Janowski)
