Almost 800 of the more than 1,300 planes have already been transferred to Russia’s aeronautical register, Transport Minister Vitaly Savelyev said on Tuesday.

He was speaking at a meeting of the Committee on Economic Policy under the Federation Council, the upper house of the Russian parliament.

"We have transferred (to the Russian register - TASS) almost 800 aircraft. We insure them through a Russian insurance company," Savelyev noted.

The minister added that at the time of the sanctions had come into effect, Russia had 1,367 aircraft. He added that 78 aircraft were arrested in foreign countries and would not return to Russia.

"We "lost" 78 aircraft," he stated.

The minister stressed that Russia with its area of 17 mln square kilometers should not be left without an air fleet.

"We are looking for legal ways to negotiate with lessors and resolve this issue, but so far we have not managed to do this," Savelyev noted.

The minister said that the foreign lessors refuse to negotiate on compensation for aircraft used by Russian airlines or the buyout of these planes.

"But we are not losing hope, and we are not handing anything back either. To do so would mean to leave ourselves without air fleet," he said.