Russia unsuccessfully tried to negotiate with Ethiopia on the so -called “wet leasing” of passenger aircraft, which provides rent together with the crew, maintenance and insurance.
This was reported about the Ethiopian news portal Addis Insight.
It should be noted that the newspaper “Capital Gazeta” recently published an article that states that the Ethiopian authorities are negotiating with their Russian colleagues.
According to capital, this topic was raised during the bilateral meeting of officials in Ethiopian and Russian officials, which took place last month, at which both sides expressed interest in expanding cooperation in the field of aviation.
However, the official agreement was not reached, and the ECAA civil aviation department explained that although the negotiations have occurred, it has no authority to instruct the local airline of the Ethiopian airline on airplanes and this was not done.
Subsequently, the General Director of Ethiopian Airlines Group Mesfin Tasev, in response to this article, categorically rejected negotiations with the Russian Federation, calling these accusations “absolutely false”.
In a conversation with the media, he called the two main reasons why the Ethiopian airlines do not want to conclude the following agreement:
- The airline is currently expanding its activities and is actively looking for additional aircraft to meet the growing demand for passenger and freight transportation;
- Sanctions imposed on the Russian Federation. According to the director of the company, Ethiopian Airlines has strong operating and commercial relations with the United States and works in accordance with international norms and legislation.
Ethiopian airlines are considered one of the most successful airlines in Africa and have a park of more than 140 aircraft.
In April 2025, the State Duma of the Russian Federation adopted a law that allows Russian aircraft carriers to adopt aircraft in “wet” leasing. According to the newspaper “Important History”, in 2024, Russia tried to agree on the leasing of agreements with the airlines of Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Qatar and Kuwait, borrowing such tactics bypassing sanctions in Ivan, which is much longer.
In connection with the sanctions of airlines from the Russian Federation, new Western aircraft or spare parts were presented in Ukraine, which are already in the civilian air park. According to estimates of the media, 58 vessels were forced to withdraw from only a civilian air park. During this period, more than 200 incidents occurred with Russian companies.
Source: Addis Insight, “Important Stories”
Source: Racurs
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.