Qatar’s national carrier eyes minority stake in Russia’s third-largest airport as emir visits Moscow.
![Qatar Airways to buy stake in Russia's Vnukovo airport Qatar Airways also owns a 20 percent stake in London's Heathrow Airport (File: Michael Probst/AP]](https://www.aljazeera.com/mritems/imagecache/mbdxxlarge/mritems/Images/2017/3/21/42322b6d787c4bab82a846998ae6b9ef_18.jpg)
Qatar Airways is set to buy a 25 percent share in Russia’s Vnukovo International Airport, one of the four major airports which serves the capital, Moscow.
Akbar al-Baker, the national carrier’s chief executive, made the announcement on Monday, according to a report by Russia’s news agency Interfax.
The deal – the financial details of which were not yet disclosed – comes as Qatar’s EmirĀ Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al ThaniĀ is on a short workĀ visitĀ to Moscow.
A spokesperson for Qatar Airways told Reuters news agency on Monday that a memorandum of understanding to buy the minority stake had been signed, with the deal expected to be finalised in eight weeks.
The Vnukovo Airport, which is located southwest of Moscow, is the third-busiest airport in the country by passenger traffic.
Earlier this month, al-BakerĀ saidĀ Qatar Airways will report a “very large loss” in the current fiscal year because of a regional political dispute that has slapped restrictions on the airline.
Qatar’s national carrier lost access to 18 cities in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Egypt, and Bahrain when those countries imposed aĀ blockadeĀ on the country last June, accusing Qatar of supporting “terrorism”. QatarĀ deniesĀ the charges.
In other developments on Monday, Qatar’s emir met Russian PresidentĀ Vladimir PutinĀ in Moscow.
The wars inĀ YemenĀ andĀ SyriaĀ and the situation inĀ PalestineĀ were expected to be on the agenda of the bilateral meeting.
On the sidelines of Sheikh Tamim’s visit, Qatar Airways also sealed a five-year partnership with Cosmoscow, Russia’s only international contemporary art fair.
Qatar, the Gulfās melting pot of art and culture, strengthens its ties with Russia by signing a five-year partnership withĀ @cosmoscow, Russia’s only International Contemporary Art Fair.Ā https://t.co/1l1PA9tU5K#QatarRussia2018pic.twitter.com/MTfTNy39PH
ā Qatar Airways (@qatarairways)Ā March 26, 2018
SOURCE:Ā AL JAZEERA NEWS