MOSCOW, November 27. /TASS/. The talks on supplies of Russia’s MC-21 civil aircraft to aviation companies of the Persian Gulf are underway and will be sped up after the EASA certificate is obtained, Director for International Cooperation and Regional Policy of the defense and technology company Rostec Viktor Kladov said in an interview with TASS.

"The talks on МС-21-300 aircraft supplies with Persian Gulf's aviation companies are also underway. We are doing that work now as we widely promote the aircraft, hold business missions in various countries, concurrently making agreements with key partners," he said.

Moreover, the issues of creating technical service and customization centers in the region, as well as its production localization, are also being addressed, Kladov added. "Production localization volumes and the creation of centers is directly connected with the aircraft sale volumes. The talks on those issues will be sped up after МС-21-300 obtains the EASA certificate," he noted.

The MC-21 is a medium-haul narrow-body passenger jet being developed by the United Aircraft Corporation. It may come in two configurations - the MC-21-200 (seating 132 to 165 passengers) and the MC-21-300 (163 to 211). Another configuration, the MC-21-400 with up to 250 seats, is also planned. Currently, only the MC-21-300 plane is being developed. It performed its first flight at the end of May 2017. First jets are expected to be delivered in 2020. Certificating and the launch of serial production are also due in 2020.