Aeroflot deal to buy Boeing 787s is stalled

Talks on a multibillion-dollar deal for Russian state flag carrier Aeroflot to buy 22 Boeing 787 Dreamliner jets are on hold, and frosty relations between Russia and the United States could be to blame, a Russian airline official said.

Aeroflot management last year asked the government -- the company’s controlling shareholder -- to approve a deal to upgrade its long-range fleet by buying 22 Boeing 787s and an equal number of Airbus A350s. Chief Executive Valery Okulov said later that no permission had been received and that a deadline for the deal had been missed, though a Boeing spokeswoman said talks were continuing.