It will be easier for Canadian air companies to fly to India via Russia

President of Russia Vladimir Putin gave Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Mikhail Kasyanov the assignment to intensify the talks on resolving the problem linked with some restrictions on flights of Canadian air companies to India in transit via Russia, deputy head of the Kremlin administration Sergei Prikhodko said.

According to him, right after the end of today's meeting of Putin with head of the Canadian government Jean Chretien the head of the Russian state talked by telephone to Minister of Transport of the Russian Federation Sergei Frank who informed the president of this problem in detail.

The president of Russia asked to find a solution which would not infringe upon the rights of the Russian carriers but would also resolve the problems of the Canadian ones, Prikhodko specified.

The restrictions which were imposed on the Canadian air companies' transit flights across the territory of Russia could cause response measures of the Canadian side. In particular, it could be forbidden to Russian air carriers to make flights to North America in transit via the territory of Canada. In the opinion of the Russian and Canadian leaders, "it is a technical question, and it is necessary to decide it," Prikhodko noted.