Visiting Russian President Vladimir Putin made it clear today that he hoped a RM3.4 billion deal to sell warplanes to Malaysia would prompt more sales in the region.

"With the delivery of the Sukhoi, hopefully it will promote Russian aviation technology to Southeast Asia," Putin said at the launch of the Malaysia-Russia Business Council here.

The centrepiece of Putin's first visit here is the signing of an agreement to supply 18 Sukhoi Su-30MK fighter jets to the Royal Malaysian Air Force.

The combat aircraft form part of a major arms procurement spree by Malaysia which includes French submarines, British and Russian missile systems and Polish attack tanks.

The squadron of Sukhoi will join Russian-made MiG-29Ns, US-made FA-18/Ds and British-made Hawks in Malaysia's combat aircraft fleet, officials said.

Alternate customers

Analysts in Moscow had predicted that Putin would use the trip to Malaysia, the first by a Russian president, to boost his country's position in the Asian arms market.

Under fire for its nuclear cooperation with Iran, Russia is not keen to further rile the United States by increasing its arms sales to the Islamic regime and is instead seeking alternate customers, they said.

The Sukhoi deal is a sign that Russia is turning back to Asia after the relationship that flourished with the US after the Sept 11 attacks cooled over the US-led war in Iraq, said analyst Viktor Kremenyuk of the USA-Canada Institute in Moscow.

Malaysia is also a strong critic of the US invasion of Iraq, and the issue was raised obliquely at a question and answer session after Putin's address to several hundred businessmen at an hotel in the capital Kuala Lumpur.

In reply to a question on the "unilateral trend" in world affairs, Putin said through an interpreter: "In our view, a multipolar world will serve as a basis where the rule of law triumphs and the practise of leading international organisations is complied with."

"The strengthening of this international legal framework and the strengthening of a multipolar world which takes into account the interest of all nations irrespective of dimension and size is a necessary precondition for the new economic order."

The situation in Iraq was expected to be high on the agenda in talks between Putin and Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad later in the day.

Mahathir has warned that the war will add to the perceived oppression of Muslims worldwide and fan the flames of global terrorism.

Following a state banquet, the Russian president is scheduled to leave for Uzbekistan shortly after midnight.