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Dr M: Russia keen to sell its airplanes to M’sia

Russia is offering Malaysia the chance to buy its airplanes, said Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

The offer was made during a bilateral meeting between the Mahathir and Russian President Vladimir Putin last night.

“He (Putin) raised a possibility of selling their airplanes to us. That depends on how much money that we have,” Mahathir told reporters after receiving a courtesy call from International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde in Singapore.

Mahathir is attending the 33th Asean Summit and its related meetings, while Lagarde is there as a guest.

However, the prime minister did not disclose whether the offer was for military or commercial purposes.

Asked whether Russia would help maintain the aircraft bought from Moscow, Mahathir said: “He will help us. We have a fleet of Sukhoi.. some of them (are) not flying.”

During the bilateral meeting with Russia, Mahathir said that Malaysia needed “to learn more how to maintain and repair the aircraft.”

Malaysia's Defence Ministry has been operating Sukhoi Su-30MKM and MiG-29 fighter jets.

It has been reported that there were issues with regard to their maintenance and service.

Defence Minister Mohamad Sabu had said only four of the 18 Sukhoi jets were able to fly well, while the rest were under repair.

- Bernama

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