Baku, Azerbaijan, Apr. 18
By Fatih Karimov - Trend:
Some Chinese and European firms have expressed readiness to finance the Iran-Airbus deal, Ali Abedzadeh, head of Iran's Civil Aviation Organization (CAO), said.
He further said that the Iran-Airbus deal for purchasing 118 aircrafts needs resumption of the banking ties, Tasnim news agency reported April 18.
The EU and French sides have agreed to cover the insurance issues regarding the deal, Abedzadeh said.
While commenting about finalizing the agreement, the Iranian official said that it is a time-consuming process.
He added that Airbus is working to obtain needed permissions.
Alain Vidalies, the French transport minister, said the same day that Airbus needs Washington's permission to reach a deal with Iran as 10 percent of the Airbus equipment is US-made.
"We started talks with the US some time ago. The negotiations are at a very advanced stage now," Vidalies said, adding banking problems still exist with Iran, although the Western sanctions on Iran were lifted in mid-January after implementation of the nuclear deal.
Over the past decades and after the removal of crippling nuclear-related sanctions on Iran, Airbus was the first airplane manufacturer to seal a major aviation deal with Iran.
On January 28, Tehran signed a historic deal with Airbus for the purchase of 118 airliners (73 widebodies, 45 single aisle) including 12 A380 superjumbos.
Under the memorandum of understanding (MoU), the European aircraft manufacturer will train Iranian pilots as well as technicians to maintain the planes.
