Moscow Wants to Resume Direct Flights Between Russia, US

In what may be another indication of further warming of relations between the United States and Russia under the Trump Administration, Russia is seeking the reopening of US airspace for its aircraft.

In addition, Russia has requested the resumption of direct flights between the two countries, according to a report from CNN.

The request from Russia was put forth as part of a bilateral meeting with US officials, which took place in Turkey yesterday.

Per the subsequent statement issued by Russian officials, the bilateral talks covered “ways to overcome numerous ‘irritants’ inherited from previous American administrations.”

“The need for practical results aimed at creating conditions for improving bilateral relations in the interests of the peoples of our countries was particularly emphasized. In concrete terms, the American side was asked to consider the possibility of restoring direct air traffic,” continued the statement.

Russian planes were banned from entering the airspace of countries that are allies of Ukraine in February 2022 after Russia launched an unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. Allies issuing the ban at that time included the US, Canada, the European Union and other Western countries.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine caused a refugee crisis and an outpouring of support from travel companies and destinations supporting Ukrainians.

In addition, a variety of American carriers suspended flights. Delta Airlines, for instance, suspended its codeshare agreement with Russian national carrier Aeroflot. The United Kingdom also banned its commercial airlines from Russian airspace. Germany's national airline, Lufthansa, also suspended flights to and from Russia and said it would avoid Russian airspace.

In response, Russia closed its own airspace to long list of countries.

On the heels of this week's talks, US officials issued their own statement indicating that the US and Russia had “constructive discussions,” according to the CNN report. However, the US statement did not address the request for reopened US airspace.

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