China Airlines in landmark Taiwan-Russia tie-up

Taiwan's leading air carrier China Airlines said Tuesday it is launching a codesharing agreement with Russia's Transaero Airlines, in the first such pact between the island and Russia.

Beginning from May 1, the airlines will jointly provide two flights a week on the Taipei-Bangkok-Moscow route, flying Boeing 747-400s.

"This will be a milestone in the history of air transportation between Taiwan and Russia," China Airlines spokesman Yang Tzu-pao told AFP.

The agreement will be signed at the Taiwanese airline's headquarters in Taoyuan, northern Taiwan, on Thursday.

Russia does not recognise Taiwan, which Beijing has regarded as part of its territory since the end of a civil war in 1949. Instead, ties between China and Russia have been close since the Soviet Union era.