Airbus A350-900 aircraft of Russia's flagship airline Aeroflot takes off during a media presentation at Sheremetyevo International Airport outside Moscow, Russia March 4, 2020. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov

March 11 (Reuters) - Russia is working on sourcing spare parts for aircraft from China and other Asian countries, the transport ministry said on Friday, and has not yet decided whether to buy foreign airplanes leased by Russian airlines.

Sanctions have already cut off the supply of most aircraft and parts to Russia and forced its carriers to cancel many international flights for fear their aircraft will be seized by foreign lessors or banks.

An official at Russia's aviation authority said on Thursday China had refused to supply Russian airlines with aircraft parts, after Boeing (BA.N) and Airbus (AIR.PA) halted supply of components. read more

"Questions of supplies of spare parts from China and other Asian contries are being worked out," said Alina Malysheva, director of the transport ministry's legal support department, in a meeting with lawmakers from the Federation Council, the Russian parliament's upper house.

She said 739 of Russia's 1,367 airplanes are currently registered abroad and that Russian aircraft may be able to be registered in Russia without being taken off foreign registers.

"A decision on buying (planes) has not yet been taken," Malysheva said.

Russia on Thursday published a draft law that could prevent its airlines returning leased aircraft, raising the stakes in a showdown with Western finance over $10 billion of jets. read more

The lower house of parliament, the State Duma, passed the legislation on Friday at the first reading, which would offer relief to the transport sector in the face of sanctions.

The law seeks to preserve the fleet of foreign aircraft with Russian operators and allows for changes in the way airworthiness certificates can be issued.

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Subscribe to our sustainability newsletter to make sense of the latest ESG trends affecting companies and governments.

Subscribe to our newsletter to get all the news you need to start your day.

Reuters, the news and media division of Thomson Reuters, is the world’s largest multimedia news provider, reaching billions of people worldwide every day. Reuters provides business, financial, national and international news to professionals via desktop terminals, the world's media organizations, industry events and directly to consumers.

Build the strongest argument relying on authoritative content, attorney-editor expertise, and industry defining technology.

The most comprehensive solution to manage all your complex and ever-expanding tax and compliance needs.

The industry leader for online information for tax, accounting and finance professionals.

Access unmatched financial data, news and content in a highly-customised workflow experience on desktop, web and mobile.

Browse an unrivalled portfolio of real-time and historical market data and insights from worldwide sources and experts.

Screen for heightened risk individual and entities globally to help uncover hidden risks in business relationships and human networks.

All quotes delayed a minimum of 15 minutes. See here for a complete list of exchanges and delays.