回敬欧盟制裁，俄罗斯可能会禁止航班飞越西伯利亚领空

    据俄罗斯一家主流报纸报道称，作为对上周欧盟制裁措施的反击，俄罗斯正考虑禁止欧盟航空公司飞越其领空。

    自欧盟首次宣布对俄罗斯进行大范围经济制裁之后，双方“火力”不断升级，而此举可能是俄罗斯回敬欧盟的最新举措。欧盟制裁俄罗斯意在惩罚其在乌克兰危机中的行为，尤其是俄罗斯对协助调查马航MH17事件时所表现出的消极合作态度，该班机7月在乌克兰东部被击落。

    《华尔街日报》（Wall Street Journal）和《金融时报》（Financial Times）部分持股的俄罗斯《商业日报》（Vedomosti）周二报道称，俄罗斯官方正考虑限制，甚至禁止飞越西伯利亚领空，此举将严重扰乱欧洲各大航空公司的正常运营。对它们来说，西伯利亚航线是欧洲航空公司每日飞往日本、中国和东南亚的最短、最经济的航线。

    报道一出，欧洲航空公司的股价遭受重创，英国航空（British Airways）和西班牙国家航空（Iberia）的母公司国际航空集团（International Airlines Group）股价下跌了3.3%，德国汉莎航空的股价下跌了1.0%，而法国航空－荷兰皇家航空集团(AIR FRANCE-KLM GROUP)的股价下跌了2.4%。

    然而，受此影响最严重的是俄罗斯航空公司（OAO Aeroflot）的股价，其在莫斯科股市的跌幅达6%。依据当前规定，俄罗斯航空每年从其他航空公司那里征收的西伯利亚领空飞越费约为3亿美元，如果不计这笔费用，该航空公司一直以来就怎么没赢利过。

    《商业日报》援引俄罗斯总理梅德韦杰夫发言人的讲话称，政府目前没有讨论任何此类措施的计划，但是发言人指出，“欧盟任何不友好的举措，包括空运领域都将成为研究的对象，而且终将得到回应。”

    虽然欧盟的制裁力度相对温和，但它禁飞俄罗斯Dobrolyot航空公司航班的举动已伤害了俄国人的自尊心，该航空公司经营的是具有政治象征意义的莫斯科-克里米亚首府辛菲罗波尔航线。这条航线实际上已经不复存在，因为俄罗斯于3月兼并了克里米亚，而且协调空中交通管制的国际民航组织（International Civil Aviation Organisation）也只认可基辅对克里米亚的辖权。

    莫斯科已经对上周的制裁已经进行了回击，禁止从波兰进口几乎所有的水果和蔬菜，而波兰也是欧盟成员中对俄态度最为强硬的国家。在近几个月中，俄罗斯也已禁止从乌克兰进口多种系列的农产品，此举明显是为了惩罚基辅政府在寻求经济联盟时选择了欧盟而没有选择俄罗斯。

    俄罗斯在公开场合称，这些举措是出于公众健康的考虑，并称其违反了兽医或其他食品安全法规。在总统普京的领导下，俄罗斯已习惯于利用食品或环境监管部门向政治意见相左的国家施加压力。

    同样，食品安全监督部门Rospotrebnadzor上周表示，该机构将开始检查俄罗斯麦当劳连锁店所使用的外国奶酪和其他配料。

    Rospotrebnadzor在周一进一步表示，出于质量问题的考虑，该机构还将检查从美国进口的波旁威士忌酒，并列出了美国Barton 1792 Distillery酒厂“Kentucky Gentleman”品牌波旁酒。（财富中文网）

    译者：翔

    Russia is considering a ban European airlines from using its airspace on routes between Europe and Asia in retaliation for sanctions measures announced last week, according to a report in a leading Russian newspaper Tuesday.

    The move would be the latest in a spiralling round of tit-for-tat measures since the E.U. for the first time announced sanctions on broad sectors of the Russian economy in an effort to punish it for its perceived role in the Ukraine crisis, and specifically its lack of cooperation in helping to investigate the shooting down of Malaysian Airlines’ MH17 over eastern Ukraine in July.

    The newspaper Vedomosti, part owned by The Wall Street Journal and the Financial Times, reported Tuesday that officials are looking at limiting or even banning overflights of Siberian airspace, in a move that would seriously disrupt the operations of the big European airlines, for whom that route is the shortest and most economical route for dozens of flights a day to Japan, China and South-East Asia.

    European airlines’ shares were badly hit by the report, with International Airlines Group, the parent of British Airways and Iberia, falling 3.3%, while Deutsche Lufthansa AG fell 1.0% and Air France-KLM SA fell 2.4%.

    But the worst-affected stock was that of Russia’s OAO Aeroflot, which fell 6.0% in Moscow. Under current arrangements, Aeroflot gets some $300 million a year in fees from other airlines for the right to overfly Siberia, and the airline has rarely turned a profit when that money is stripped out of its financial statements.

    Vedomosti quoted the spokeswoman of Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev as saying that the government had no plans to discuss any such measure at the moment, but noted that “any unfriendly measures by the E.U., including in the area of air transport, will be studied and will not remain unanswered.”

    Although still relatively modest, E.U. sanctions have piqued Russian pride by grounding the airline Dobrolyot, which was operating a politically-symbolic route between Moscow and the Crimean capital of Simferopol. Flights to Crimea have been effectively impossible since Russia’s annexation of it in March, as the International Civil Aviation Organisation, which coordinates international air traffic control, only recognises Kyiv’s authority over it.

    Moscow has already retaliated to last week’s measures, banning imports of almost all fruit and vegetables from Poland, one of the most hard-line E.U. states in its attitude to Russia. In recent months, it has also banned imports of a wide range of agricultural products from Ukraine, in a move apparently aimed at punishing the government in Kyiv for its choice to pursue economic integration with Europe rather than Russia.

    Russia has presented its measures as public health issues, citing violations of veterinary or other food safety regulations. Under President Vladimir Putin, the country has built up a track record of using its food or environmental regulators to exert pressure on countries with which it has political disputes.

    In similar vein, the food safety watchdog Rospotrebnadzorsaid last week it would start checking foreign cheese and other ingredients used by McDonald’s Corp’s at its Russian restaurants.

    Rospotrebnadzor went one further Monday, saying it was also checking imports of Bourbon whiskey from the U.S. on quality concern issues. It singled out the Barton 1792 Distillery’s “Kentucky Gentleman” brand.