Syrian MiG deal is it on or off?

The $400-500 million contract for the delivery of eight MiG-31s was inked in early 2007, the paper said.

But work on the modernisation of the planes at the Sokol aviation plant in the Russian city of Nizhny Novgorod halted last month, Kommersant quoted sources at the plant as saying.

A spokesman for Russian arms exporter Rosoboronexport, Vyacheslav Davidenko, declined to comment on the report May 20, dismissing it as "rumors."

A source close to the arms exporter told Kommersant the contract had been frozen under foreign pressure as the weapon sales could offset the balance of power in the region.

However, Kommersant also cited an unnamed government official who said the contract was suspended because Damascus could no longer afford the planes.

But Syria has denied the Russian media report that Moscow no longer wants to sell it MiG-31s.

"This is part of attempts to undermine the friendly relations and cooperation between Syria and Russia," an official Syrian statement said according to Reuters.

The statement was issued as Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov visited the Syrian capital and met Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

The contract was supposed to be the first export deal for the MiG-31E, a heavy twin-engine interceptor capable of flying at nearly three times the speed of sound and simultaneously firing at several targets at ranges of up to 180 km.

The MiG-31E Foxhound