KIEV (Sputnik) — Ukraine demands that Russia must stop flights to Crimea and pay pending fines before talks on the resumption of air travel could start, the Ukrainian Ministry of Infrastructure said Thursday.
"We can confirm that the [Ukrainian] State Aviation Administration received a letter from the Russian Federal Air Transport agency today, where the Federal Air Transport Agency stated its position, which is unacceptable for Ukraine. We continue to insist that in order to begin the negotiation process, the Russian side must cease flights to closed territories, i.e. to Crimea, and pay a fine," ministry spokeswoman Irina Kustovskaya told RIA Novosti.