Bloomberg: Russia asks US to allow it to buy Boeing planes using frozen assets

Russia has asked the US to allow it to purchase Boeing aircraft using billions of dollars in frozen assets once a ceasefire in Ukraine is achieved.

This is reported by Bloomberg, citing an informed source in Moscow.

This request is not a condition for Russia to agree to a ceasefire, the Bloomberg source emphasizes. But Moscow understands that the frozen assets cannot be used to purchase aircraft without stopping hostilities.

The amount of Russian assets frozen in the US is small — about $5 billion. In total, the US, UK and European Union have frozen $280 billion in Russian Central Bank reserves, but more than two-thirds are blocked in the EU.

The Boeing aircraft deal could be part of a relaxation of sanctions against Russia if hostilities cease, Bloomberg notes. However, the US has so far officially refused to discuss the issue.

“The United States will not discuss any economic commitments until a ceasefire is achieved [in Ukraine],” said Brian Hughes, a spokesman for the US National Security Council.

Russia had previously asked the US to lift sanctions on Russiaʼs largest state-owned airline Aeroflot and to resume direct flights between the countries. Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov said in February that Moscow was ready to resume cooperation with Boeing, which was a major buyer of Russian titanium before Russiaʼs full-scale invasion of Ukraine. But the US left the proposal without an official response.

Boeing completely shut down its operations in Russia, including a major engineering center, after the invasion of Ukraine in 2022. But the ongoing trade war, sparked by US President Donald Trumpʼs tariff policies, is weakening Boeingʼs position in other markets as well.

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