TEHRAN - Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak underlined that his country is willing to produce its light passenger planes in Iran.

"Russia has presented a proposal to Iran for the joint production of its Ilyushin II-114 planes in Iran," Novak said on Thursday.

He reiterated that Moscow was interested in launching a production line in Iran to produce spare parts and the equipment required for Russian planes.

Novak, meantime, said that his country was preparing to sell 12 Sukhoi Superjet 100 passenger planes to Iran.

In relevant remarks on Wednesday, Iranian Road and Urban Development Minister Abbas Akhoundi underlined that his ministry and the world's leading turboprop manufacturer ATR were in the final stages of a passenger plane deal.

"Negotiations for the purchase of aircraft from ATR have reached the final stage and at the moment, the two sides are at the stage of exchanging documents," Akhoundi said.

He said that with the finalization of document exchange, the introduction of the first ATR aircraft into Iran’s air fleet will begin to be followed up through official channels.

The deal was first signed in February 2016 in Tehran following the commercial discussions held in Rome and Paris during visit of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani Akhoundi to those countries.

Earlier in February, Iranian Deputy Road and Urban Development Minister Asqar Fakhriyeh Kashan declared that ATR will deliver three or four passenger planes to Iran Air, Iran's national flag air carrier, by the end of the current Iranian calendar (will end on March 20).

He reiterated that after finalization of the deal valued at $400 million for 20 passenger planes, the aircraft will be delivered to Iran.

On January 11, French Airbus also delivered the first plane to Iran under the deal between Iran and Airbus to purchase 100 passenger planes from the French manufacturer of civil aircraft.

Airbus sealed a contract with Iran Air in December to sell 100 of its passenger planes, worth over $18 billion.

The announcement came after Iran Air Managing Director Farhad Parvaresh and Airbus President Fabrice Bregier finalized a deal which was initially signed in Paris back in January 2016.

The agreement covered 46 Airbus A320 planes, 38 A330 planes and 16 A350 XWB aircraft, with deliveries due to begin in early 2017.

Airbus is the world’s Number 2 jet maker after Boeing, a US-based multinational plane manufacturer.

Bregier described the deal as “a significant first step in the overall modernization of Iran’s commercial aviation sector,” saying it also includes pilot training, airport operations and air traffic management.

Parvaresh, for his part, expressed delight at cooperation with Airbus, stressing it has paved the way “for more practical steps to follow for Iran Air’s fleet renewal.”

"Iran Air considers this agreement an important step towards a stronger international presence in civil aviation. We hope this success signals to the world that the commercial goals of Iran and its counterparts are better achieved with international cooperation and collaboration,” he added.

The deal with Airbus received the go-ahead from the US Treasury Department in November.

Earlier in December, Iran Air finalized a deal for 80 jetliners from US plane maker Boeing Co., with the planes scheduled to start arriving in 2018.

The deals were made possible after the US removed a ban on selling Iran passenger aircraft and spare parts following the nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

Tehran and the six world powers (the US, Russia, China, France, Britain and Germany) hammered out the nuclear accord in July 2015.

It went into effect in January 2016 and resolved a long-running dispute over Iran’s peaceful nuclear program.

(source: farsnews)