Aircraft
With Putin's Blessing, Boeing Boosts Russian Partnership
Boeing has appointed Russian titanium supplier VSMPO-Avisma as a strategic partner for the 777X airliner.
Boeing and VSMPO-Avisma officials celebrate the extension of their partnership at the MAKS show. Left to right: Sergei Kravchenko, Boeing president for Russia and CIS, Marty Bentrott, Boeing vice president, sales for the Middle East, Russia and Central Asia and Mikhail Voevodin, VSMPO-Avisma CEO. (Photo: Vladimir Karnozov)
Boeing and VSMPO-Avisma officials celebrate the extension of their partnership at the MAKS show. Left to right: Sergei Kravchenko, Boeing president for Russia and CIS, Marty Bentrott, Boeing vice president, sales for the Middle East, Russia and Central Asia and Mikhail Voevodin, VSMPO-Avisma CEO. (Photo: Vladimir Karnozov)

Russian President Vladimir Putin used his visit to this week’s MAKS airshow in Moscow to urge Western aerospace firms to expand their partnerships with Russian companies despite continuing economic sanctions against Russia imposed by the European Union, the U.S. and Canada. Commenting after an event on August 25 when Boeing appointed Russian titanium supplier VSMPO-Avisma as a strategic partner for the 777X program, the Russian leader said that he hopes “mutually beneficial international programs with Russian aerospace industry’s participation do not get affected by politics.”