Experts of Ukraine and Russia intend to settle all the issues of Antonov-70 production project before August 15. The Defense Minister Anatoliy Hrytsenko told journalists after a session of the Sub-committee for Security Issues of the Yushchenko-Putin Intergovernmental Commission, Cabinet press office reported.
Hrytsenko recalled that Russia earlier decided to pull out of the project.
Following that decision, the sides reached an agreement to set up a group for that matter, which held its first session on June 25. "Now we are evaluating the expenses of Ukraine and of Russia. Besides, we are making an assessment of what was accomplished regarding the technical tasks that were set," Hrytsenko said.
Earlier the Ukrainian side offered Russia to jointly complete the AN-70 construction project. In May 2006 the Russian side made an official statement on giving up the project. In July 2006 the Defense Ministry stated that Ukraine will be able to produce the planes single-handedly.
The joint Ukrainian-Russian program on AN-70 military cargo airplane was being implemented in accordance with agreements between the two countries regarding the production and scientific-technological cooperation between enterprises of the defense sector signed in 1993 and 1999.
