Stanislav Filin, deputy director of Rosvooruzheniye, the state company in charge of weapons sales, said the contract with Malaysia to sell 18 MiG-29 jet fighters was a breakthrough for arms sales in the region.
In addition to agreements on aircraft, he said, Rosvooruzheniye had had contact with Malaysia on sale of the T-72 tank, weapons for land troops, and landing hovercrafts.
Vladimir Kuzmin, director of the Moscow Aircraft Building Association, said the June contract to purchase the MiGs was the first to be signed on a purely commercial basis.
In the past, Kuzmin said, weapons sales by Russia depended strictly on political decisions and government deals.
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