Russia’s President, Vladimir Putin, again demonstrated his tendency towards “muscular diplomacy” yesterday as he took advantage of chaos at Airbus, the European aircraft maker, to demand help developing the Russian aerospace industry.

At a meeting with French defence and finance ministers, Mr Putin said that the Russians would continue to buy shares in EADS, Airbus’s parent, unless the company agreed to greater cooperation with Russia. The Russians already have a 6 per cent holding.

Russian-built jets are noisy, inefficient and heavy polluters, but the Kremlin does not want to admit defeat and give up on the high-tech aerospace industry. This is partly for strategic reasons and partly because the Kremlin does not want to spend billions on Airbus and Boeing. However, the Russian aerospace industry can only improve if it gains access to Western technology and Mr Putin is trying to lure Airbus into greater cooperation.

Airbus already has a 10 per cent stake in Irkut, which is one of the domestic jet-makers merging to create the United Aircraft Corporation (UAC). It is hoped in Russia that Airbus’s involvement in UAC will enable the company to build more advanced aircraft.

Analysts believe that Mr Putin took the opportunity yesterday to push Russia’s case forcefully as Airbus is in chaos following a decision by German shareholders to block a restructuring plan, called Power 8.

Mr Putin said that Russian institutions would buy EADS shares on the Paris stock market to force the group’s hand in greater cooperation. Vneshtorgbank (VTB), which is planning to list shares in London in the spring, bought a 6 per cent stake last year.

EADS, one of the world’s largest defence companies, wants to get rid of the Russian State as a shareholder amid concerns that it could make winning defence orders in the United States more difficult. EADS has repeatedly said that it will not allow the Russians to gain a seat on the board.

Mr Putin appears to be using the threat of a greater shareholding to force more cooperation with Russia. His timing is typical of the “muscular diplomacy” the Kremlin has used to influence Western companies in the past couple of years.

The German and French factions within Airbus are currently disputing where restructuring cuts should come and are also squabbling over work allotments for the new aircraft project, the A350.

Yesterday, Manfred Bischoff, co-chairman of EADS, tried to calm the situation. He said: “The inevitable impacts in the countries involved must be made acceptable and enforceable by means of a fair distibution of future opportunities.”

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