Interfax: Proposal to ban Western airlines from using trans-Siberian routes is “on the table” – Medvedev

MOSCOW. Aug 7 (Interfax) – Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has said that Russia is considering a potential ban on European and U.S. air carriers using trans-Siberian routes as a possible retaliatory step against Western sanctions targeting Russia’s low-cost airline Dobrolet.

“The government of the Russian Federation is considering a number of retaliatory steps. But it does not mean that they will be enacted immediately. Nevertheless, they are “on the table”, so to speak. First, it is a ban on European and American airlines using our country’s airspace for transit flights to regions of Southeast Asia, in other words the Asia-Pacific region,” Medvedev said at a government session on Thursday.

“Certainly, it is a very tough measure. However, it should be mentioned,” the prime minister said.

When commenting on other possible measures in response to Western sanctions, Medvedev said: “Second, we are considering the possibility of changing the so-called entry-exit points in Russia’s airspace for regular and charter flights operated by European and American air carriers.”