Russia's Ministry of Transport has sent Vietnam a proposal for a so-called "wet lease" arrangement, under which aircraft would be rented out together with their crews. Transport Minister Andrei Nikitin confirmed the move in response to a question from journalists, according to RIA Novosti.
Nikitin said the ministry had sent its counterparts the relevant proposals and that they were under review, without giving details of the request or the potential size of any contract.
A wet lease is a common aviation industry arrangement in which an aircraft owner supplies the plane, its crew, maintenance and insurance to another airline, letting the customer operate flights without owning or fully staffing its own fleet.
Background on the proposal
Nikitin's predecessor as transport minister, Roman Starovoit, spoke last year about preparing the legal groundwork for wet lease deals. The initiative was intended as insurance against a shortage of aircraft, but it had not moved forward since then, and planes from foreign airlines had not entered the fleets of Russian carriers.
Russia's aviation sector has faced difficulties obtaining new aircraft and spare parts because of Western sanctions imposed after the invasion of Ukraine, which have limited access to Boeing and Airbus planes and components.
Putin and To Lam meet in Moscow
The proposal emerged as Russian President Vladimir Putin received his Vietnamese counterpart, To Lam, at the Kremlin on Wednesday, September 9, during a state visit. The two leaders discussed a number of issues, including the construction of a nuclear power plant in Vietnam.
To Lam is the general secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam, the country's top leadership post, and Vietnam has maintained close ties with Russia dating back to the Soviet era.
Earlier, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Moscow was ready to supply its new aircraft to foreign partners on a non-discriminatory basis and to become an alternative supplier of critical aviation technology.
