FARNBOROUGH, England — The supply of Russian titanium to aircraft manufacturers Airbus and Boeing will not be affected by the deterioration of East-West relations over the Ukraine crisis, Russia's deputy trade minister said Tuesday.
"Our colleagues are worried regarding the supply of titanium … We met here with Boeing. They once again asked us to confirm that we will honor contracts relating to VSMPO-Avisma corporation. We confirm," Interfax reported Deputy Minister for Industry and Trade Yury Slyusar as saying on day two of the Farnborough Airshow.
VSMPO, the world's largest titanium producer, has been reported to meet 40 percent of titanium products demand at Boeing and 60 percent of demand for Airbus, although Slyusar said there was nothing to suggest the figures were that high.
The metals supplier, which is 25 percent owned by Russian state defense conglomerate Rostec, whose CEO Sergei Chemezov was made the subject of Western sanctions in late April for Russia's role in the Ukraine crisis, confirmed on Monday it had extended its supply contract with Boeing until 2022.
Tensions over the Ukraine crisis, which has driven relations between Russia and the West to their lowest point since the Cold War, have been highly visible at Farnborough this year. Russia is not displaying any military hardware and a number of its delegates were unable to attend after failing to receive British visas.
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