MAKHACHKALA, May 8. /TASS/. Indonesia has never terminated a contract to purchase Su-35 fighter jets from Russia and is waiting for the situation to become "more accomodating" to return to its implementation, Indonesian Ambassador to Russia Jose Tavares told TASS.
"Indeed, at some point Russia and Indonesia signed this treaty. Indonesia has never terminated it, but it was put on hold to avoid certain potential inconveniences," he said.
The ambassador added that Indonesia will return to this question when the situation becomes "more accommodating."
In his estimates, around 30% of weapons in service with his country’s armed forces are Russian-made.
CNN Indonesia news portal reported in late December 2021 that the Indonesian government abandoned its plans to purchase 11 Russian-made Su-35 multirole fighters due to lack of funds.
News about the signing of a $1.1 billion contract with Jakarta for the delivery of 11 Su-35 fighter jets became known in early 2018. In July 2019, former Indonesian Ambassador to Russia Mohamad Wahid Supriyadi said that the delay in the implementation of the contract was due to the complexity of the trade scheme, which involved both government agencies and companies.
In March 2020, Bloomberg reported that Indonesian authorities decided to give up on plans to implement the Su-35 contract with Russia due to a lack of funds in the budget caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, and also due to threats from the US to impose sanctions on Indonesia if the contract was implemented.