Russian PM Mikhail Mishustin has said Russia aims to resume flights to and from 52 ‘friendly countries’ including Argentina, and South Africa, after the wave of western sanctions against Moscow following its invasion of Ukraine. The flights will resume from April 9 onwards. ‘Friendly nations’ include countries that haven’t joined a wave of Western nations in sanctions against Russia.
Russia, as a result of the sanctions imposed by the West, has closed its airspace to airlines from 36 countries, including all 27 members of the European Union. Russian airlines have been banned from using Northern American and European airspace too.
Other nations with which Russia will resume flights include Israel, Algeria, China, Lebanon, Peru, and Pakistan, according to Russian official media.
At the commencement of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, Russia enacted broad travel restrictions, many of which are still in effect.
Seperately, the ruble has surged back up against the US dollar, to levels last seen before the invasion of Ukraine, just a month after the West placed harsh sanctions on Russia. Part of the reason behind this rebound is that Russian authorities are doing plenty to boost the ruble— “a lot of manipulation,” as Anthony Blinken, the US secretary of state, said on April 3. “People are being prevented from unloading rubles… That’s artificially propping up the value.” But these capital controls are unsustainable for an indefinite period of time, Blinken added. “I think you’re going to see that change,” the Quartz reported.