Fiasco at Paris Air Show damages Russian-French cooperation (225 words)

Published: 6/25/2001

The attempted arrest of a Russian Air Force Su-30MK by the French police at the Paris Air Show has done little to improve Russia's relations with France. The attempt was made under a court order, seizing the plane as collateral against $1billion debts reportedly owed by the Russian Government to a Swiss trading company called Noga, for oil for food deals in the early 1990s. The aircraft subsequently left, having avoided arrest in the company of the Russo-French MiG-AT, leaving frosty relations between the two countries, ahead of a visit to Moscow by French President Chirac during which an agreement on aerospace cooperation is to be signed. The Duma, shocked by the attempted seizure, passed a vote of censure, with calls for the French property in Russia to be seized. The foiled arrest of the aircraft was the result of the enforcement of a series of awards against Russia, including $63m made by a Swedish court relating to Noga's claim and is one of a number of efforts by Noga to recover its debts, including the seizure of a Russian tall ship in Brest harbour. The company claims that the attempted aircraft seizure is part of a new campaign to recover what it is owed and will be followed by actions elsewhere.

Article ID: 2606