The Russian Federation has formally requested the United States of America to reconsider the restrictions imposed on Aeroflot, the Russian national carrier. This was announced by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov during a press briefing at the end of the meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) held today in Almaty. The statement was made in response to a specific question about the possibility of concrete agreements on the resumption of direct air traffic between Russia and the United States, and the connection with the lifting of sanctions. Lavrov clarified: "The resumption of flights should be a consequence of the lifting of sanctions against Aeroflot. We put forward the proposal to lift them even before the meeting in Riyadh -that is, a bilateral diplomatic meeting between Russian and American representatives held in the capital of Saudi Arabia, Editor's note-, more than a month ago. The United States accepted it, but so far we have not received any response".

Lavrov also added that the issue was raised again at a meeting of experts in Istanbul: "Yesterday, a meeting in Istanbul ended, where our experts recalled this proposal. But, to be honest, I have not yet had the opportunity to contact them. Perhaps there have been some developments, but so far nothing has been heard". The minister stressed that Moscow considers the lifting of sanctions and the subsequent resumption of direct flights a key step towards normalizing bilateral relations.

Aeroflot, a pillar of Russian air transport, has been banned from US and European airspace starting in 2022. At the same time, the air company has suffered a significant blockade in the supply of essential components for aircraft operations, maintenance and insurance coverage. This situation has created increasing operational difficulties for the airline. The United States (and Europe), imposed sanctions on Aeroflot in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. These restrictive measures were part of a broad package of economic and financial sanctions aimed at putting pressure on the Russian Government, limiting its financial and technological capabilities and forcing it to cease hostilities.

As for American skies, the sanctions against Aeroflot specifically aim to:

- prevent the air company from operating in US airspace; this resulted in the suspension of all direct and indirect flights of the airline to and from the United States.

- Restrict access to key aviation goods and technologies: sanctions make it difficult for Aeroflot to obtain spare parts, software, specialized maintenance, and insurance from US companies or industries that use US technology. This directly impacts Aeroflot's ability to maintain and operate its fleet safely and efficiently. The aim of these measures is to economically isolate Russia and target strategic sectors such as transportation, which are considered crucial to the functioning of the economy and potentially linked to supporting the war effort.