Sberbank Leasing Zao, a subsidiary of Russia’s biggest lender, has announced interest in exports of Superjet International passenger planes to Iran.

Russian media, citing the country’s aviation officials, have already reported on possible delivery of three Superjets to Iran, beginning in 2016, but Iranian officials have appeared to deny it.

In an interview with the Rossiya Segodnya news agency on Thursday, acting general director of Sberbank Leasing, Kiril Tsarev, said he saw a big demand by Iran for passenger planes in the short term and that his company was interested in supplying Superjets to the country.

His company, a subsidiary of Russia’s top lender Sberbank, has tied up with Sukhoi Civil Aircraft Company to offer prospective buyers lease of up to 50 Superjet SSJ100 passenger planes.

Tsarev said aircraft exports to Iran would begin as soon as the window opened for such sales after the removal of sanctions.

“The issue is not which foreign side will get to the Iranian market first but which company will have aircraft ready for sale before 2018,” he said.

The 100-seat Superjet is the symbol of Russia's bid to assert its share in the jet manufacturing business. The country has delivered over 50 aircraft since operating the first SSJ100 commercial flight in 2011.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="555"] Superjet International is a 100-seat passenger plane developed by Sukhoi Civil Aircraft Company and Finmeccanica unit Alenia Aermacchi.[/caption]

In July, Russia's Transport Minister Maxim Sokolov said his country was in talks to sell Superjet passenger planes to Iran.

"Such talks are being held," Sokolov told reporters of possible sales of SSJ100 which is Russia’s first new airliner developed since the fall of the Soviet Union.

Iran’s Civil Aviation Organization (CAO)’s reaction to the report was vague.

“Iranian airlines will carefully examine all options for the country's new aviation fleet purchases and definitely will not restrict their choices to a single country or aircraft manufacturing company,” the CAO said in a statement.

Minister of Transportation Abbas Akhoundi has said Iran was in talks with Airbus for renovation of its aviation fleet.

“Airbus, as one of the European aviation companies, comprises about 50% of Iran’s aviation fleet and in this regard, we are in direct negotiations with the company to renovate our fleet,” Akhoundi said.

Iranian officials have said the county would need about 400 civilian aircraft worth at least $20 billion in the next decade to renovate its aging fleet which has suffered under years of US and European sanctions.

By Press TV