Russia’s Federal Air Transport Agency (Rosaviatsia) believes that the recommendation of the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) that permits civil airlines to operate flights southwest of the Crimea is politically motivated, and it does not intend to transfer the servicing of these routes to Ukrainian air traffic controllers. The Vedomosti publication reported this, citing comments by Rosaviatsia.

"It is obvious that the EASA recommendation is purely a politically motivated decision that completely fails to reflect the actual technical capabilities of Ukrainian air traffic control centers and poses a threat to aviation safety in this region. Politicized decisions should not substitute for safety principles," Rosaviatsia said in a statement on its website.

Earlier, the EASA recommended recommended that carriers consider the possibility of resuming flights on two routes over the Black Sea, which Ukraine proposed as part of a set of measures to resume the use of air routes in this area. The EASA recommended that pilots use flight information information provided by UkSATSE’s dispatchers. As a result, charges for servicing such flights should go to Ukraine.

"The Russian side did not approve the EASA statement and has no plans to transfer control of air traffic in the Simferopol flight information region to Ukrainian controllers,” Rosaviatsia said in the statement.

The EASA recommended that airlines avoid flying over the Crimea on 3 April 2014, whereas the ban on using the airspace southeast of Ukraine was introduced only after the crash of a Malaysian Airlines Boeing-777 in July 2014.