Russia to consider Venezuela’s request for delivery of fighters as soon as possible

Moscow is ready to consider a possibility of selling Sukhoi fighters to Venezuela; at present it is waiting for Caracas’ inquiry, Voenno-promishlenniy Courier reports with reference to Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov.

«There is a certain procedure for inquiring about purchase of some military equipment. I am confident that the President, Minister of Defense of Venezuela and other colleagues are aware of these procedures,» he said at a Venezuelan TV channel. «I am sure that the request will be considered as soon as possible,» the Russian minister added.

Earlier President of Venezuela Nicolas Maduro said that he is going to meet with Vladimir Putin and discuss purchase of 12 new Sukhoi multi-role fighters in order to strengthen the country’s air forces. “I’ll talk to President Vladimir Putin about purchase of at least 12 new Sukhoi fighters to replace the crashed one,” Maduro told Globovision.

He made this statement in September, after Su-30MK2 jet crashed near the border with Colombia while trying to intercept an aircraft owned by drug mafia. Two pilots died.

In July 2012 Venezuela inquired about the possibility of purchasing Su-35 jets. The status of this project is unknown.