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PUTRAJAYA: The Malaysian government has never held any discussions with Russia regarding direct flights between the two countries by its airline, Aeroflot, and the export of semiconductors and electronics.
Foreign minister Saifuddin Abdullah said as Malaysia is involved in international trade, it was open to any airline operating flights to the country.
Denying a foreign report that the export of semiconductors and electronics was discussed between the governments of the two countries, he said the discussion was focused on business-to-business links.
“I want to explain this because I am worried there might be a misunderstanding and Malaysia’s interests may be affected,” he told the media in an interview at his office here today.
He refuted a report by Sputnik News Agency in late April which quoted Malaysian ambassador to Russia, Bala Chandran Tharman as saying that Aeroflot would have direct flights between St Petersburg or Moscow and Kuala Lumpur soon.
In the report, Bala Chandran was also quoted as saying that Malaysia would consider the opportunity to sell semiconductors and electronics to Russia while Malaysian financial institutions were studying Russia’s financial system in detail and were willing to participate if it met certain criteria.
Saifuddin said Wisma Putra had contacted Bala Chandran and found that some of the matters mentioned in the interview had been quoted out of context.
Following the Sputnik report, several foreign media reported that Malaysia’s action ignored international economic sanctions against Russia due to its conflict with Ukraine.
Restrictions imposed by Western countries in particular also prohibit the export of semiconductors to Russia.
Source: https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2022/05/07/no-talks-on-direct-flights-exports-to-russia-says-saifuddin/