During closed-door talks with the United States, Russia has asked to be allowed to use its frozen assets abroad to buy Boeing passenger jets. Bloomberg reports this with reference to a source familiar with the negotiations.
According to the agency’s source in Moscow, this request is not a direct condition for agreeing to a ceasefire, but the Kremlin is aware that access to these funds will only be possible after the fighting stops. The potential deal could be part of a broader agreement to ease sanctions.
According to US lawmakers, the amount of frozen Russian assets in the US is about $5 billion.
Following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Boeing ceased its operations in Russia, including its engineering centre. At the same time, according to Bloomberg, the current pressure on Boeing in other global markets – in particular, due to the trade war initiated by President Donald Trump – may increase the likelihood of considering this option.
Pressure from China is also adding to the context: Beijing has ordered its airlines to stop accepting US-made aircraft, and Ryanair has announced possible delays in Boeing deliveries due to tariffs.
After the invasion, Russia illegally confiscated about 400 foreign aircraft leased by its airlines. In response, Russia’s National Welfare Fund allocated 300 billion rubles (approximately $3.7 billion) to buy these aircraft through leasing companies.
Although Russia has not officially linked the end of the war in Ukraine to the complete lifting of sanctions, President Vladimir Putin and other officials have repeatedly stated that a peace deal is impossible without the lifting of Western “punitive measures”.
